


Plot Bunny Ranch

by TheBeardedOne



Series: The Plot Files [3]
Category: Miscellaneous Works, Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Plot Bunnies - Freeform, Work Up For Adoption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 69,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27670172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeardedOne/pseuds/TheBeardedOne
Summary: A place where my non-Naruto and non-Harry Potter ideas see the light of day. Mainly Worm, but other ideas may also appear.
Series: The Plot Files [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023306
Comments: 22
Kudos: 37





	1. Worm - She-Hulk Style

-The Locker-

I scrabbled at the door of my prison as the whining of the Janitor's hall-cleaning machine went past. I would have shouted, but my throat was too sore to even make a squeak.

The noise vanished and I slumped, fighting not to breath too deeply as the used tampons and sanitary towels that had been crammed into my locker shifted in response to my movement. The light leaking in around the edge of the locker door vanished as the janitor left and I was all alone.

My dad would be panicking, but he wouldn't know where I was.

I was all alone.

I was going to die here.

I needed to break out, but I wasn't strong enough.

I needed to be-

 _Two giant beings spiraling through infinite space with the crashing of crystals_  
_A shard heading straight towards me, glowing in colours I had never seen before  
_ _A rip opening up and a flash of something green hitting the shard, changing it as it hit me_

-stronger!

I flexed my shoulders and the metal of the locker ripped and tore like wet paper, the lockers to each side of me folding in on themselves and I emerged from my former jail like a butterfly from a chrysalis. For a moment, I felt weak again, then the strength flooded back through me, stronger and stronger until I felt like I could break the world with my bare hands!

Turning, I looked at the crumpled metal that had previously restrained me, that had imprisoned me and I reached out my-

-what the…?

My hand!

I stared at it for a long moment, then I turned and ran to the end of the corridor. Using the light shining in from the street, I stared at my hand, trying to deny it, but no.

It was green.

I stepped through the door and paused to wipe the plaster off my brow…

My thoughts stuttered to a halt and I turned to look at the doorway.

The doorway that now had a large hole in the lintel where I had just walked through, smashing the wall like it was made of cardboard.

Just how strong was I?

I shivered, then frowned as I realized that my clothes hadn't changed with me. It was a miracle that the rags that had once been my outfit hadn't finished breaking, but I needed to find something new, something that could fit me or at least stop me being arrested for indecent exposure.

On the plus side, my new boobs made Emma look flat-chested by comparison.

.

-Home-

I landed on the driveway, the hem of my improvised tunic fluttering in the breeze of my last leap. Stepping forwards, I staggered a bit as my foot caught briefly and I looked down to see what had…

Oh.

Well, maybe I could fix that crater. I mean, it's not like I'm a weakling any more, is it?

The front door opened and my heart seemed to stop as a familiar figure opened it.

"Dad?"

Dad froze as he stared at me, his eyes darting across my face, then his expression turned pale. "Taylor? What… what happened to you?"

.

I stepped into the living room and looked down at my legs. Dad's old jogging trousers may have been loose and flappy on him, but on me, they looked almost spray-painted on. I'd chosen to keep my bedsheet-tunic for now since nothing else in the house was suitable for an eight-foot tall woman to wear.

"Taylor."

"Dad." I smiled tearily, catching him into a hug.

"Mphylrrr, cnntbrth!"

I blushed furiously as I realized where Dad's face was and quickly released him. Dad was also blushing and for several moments, we simply stood there, trying to avoid each others gazes.

"So… what happened?" Dad finally asked and I sat down on the chair, wincing as it protested under my weight.

"Dad," I began, "I never told you this, but I was having trouble being bullied at school by Emma…"

.

-New Wave-

"Hello… wow." Carol Dallan paused half-way through the door as I stood up. A long moment passed, then she stepped aside as her daughter pushed through.

"Whoah…" Victoria breathed as she orbited me. "Wow. If you're even _half_ as strong as you look, you'll be a real asset! But… why not the Wards? Not that I'm suggesting them, of course."

"Do I look like I could hide my identity like they do?" I snorted, gesturing to myself. "I'm _eight feet tall_ and green! Somehow I don't think shades and a scarf will help."

"…BARNES!" Carol shouted and I spun round to see her staring at my dad. "I work with her dad!"

"And she caused my angel to Trigger." Dad said firmly.

"Wait, Emma Barnes caused you to Trigger?" Victoria asked in shock. "I've met her, she seemed okay…"

"She was until a year and a half ago." I sighed.

.

-Going Public-

I stood just outside the hall, hearing the hum of conversation, then a sharp beeping noise caught my attention. Half-turning, I saw Carol Dallon pulling her phone out and glaring at it.

"My boss has just called us all in." She grated. "Of all the…"

"Mom, I can do it." Victoria said from my side. Ever since I had applied for New Wave, Victoria had been testing herself against me and the results had impressed her. I was faster than her (when she wasn't flying), stronger, tougher and had a bigger bust (the last being what she was cheerfully most annoyed about). Although her force-field could take a bigger single hit, I could withstand dozens, if not hundreds of strikes meaning that I was moving into position as the primary lightning bruiser of the team, a term that Victoria had gleefully explained to me.

"Good luck." Carol said to me. "Vicky, you should know the drill by now."

"We got it, mom." Glory Girl pouted. "We'll be fine."

Carol nodded, then turned and jogged towards the exit and we watched her go before Victoria coughed to regain my attention.

"Okay. When _I_ triggered and had my presentation, what I did was…"

I listened intently, fighting down the evil grin that threatened to cross my face as Victoria inadvertently gave me a way of getting revenge on the trio who had shut me in my locker.

.

"…and so may I present our newest member, the green goddess herself, Taylor Hebert, codenamed Jade!"

As Victoria finished her introductory spiel, I strode onto the stage, stopping beside her and smiling widely at the audience of reporters. Beside me, Glory Girl didn't even reach my shoulder, making it seem almost like I was looming over her, but I didn't care.

"Good morning." I said with more calm than I was feeling. "I am honored to have been accepted into the ranks of New Wave, although admittedly it would have been quite difficult for me to maintain a civilian identity given my… recent changes."

As I hoped, the wry comment caused a small wave of laughter.

"Victoria was kind enough to tell me about how she handled her presentation, so I'm going to defer to her superior experience, as I have no doubt I shall be doing in the field for quite some time."

There was another wave of laughter.

"My ratings came as a bit of a surprise to me." I admitted with a slight shrug. "Apparently, I'm a Brute seven variable, Mover four and Changer one, given that I used to be somewhat shorter and skinnier."

"Brute seven _variable_?" A voice asked and I nodded.

"Apparently, as I get angry, I get stronger. Now that the ratings are over, the next thing Victoria did at hers was to tell _how_ she got her powers, what caused her to trigger."

.

-Reactions-

Carol froze, then spun round. "Turn up the television!"

Alan Barnes was closest to it and he complied.

" _I was relentlessly bullied for almost two years by a trio of my fellow students at Winslow High School. The teachers refused to do anything about it, they refused to even admit that there was a problem and blamed me for any damage caused. I triggered when the three girls, Emma Barnes, Madison Clements and Sophia Hess, filled my locker with biological waste and locked me into it, leaving me to die."_

Carol stared at the screen, then her gaze snapped across to Alan, who was staring, pale-faced at Jade's image while everyone else glared at _him_.

"Alan." Carol ground out. "I wanted this to be private, but we need to talk."

.

"… _and Sophia Hess, filled my locker with biological waste and locked me into it, leaving me to die."_

Everyone in the wards room stared in shock at the screen, then all but one turned to glare at their final member.

"Sophia…" Dennis ground out, "What the _fuck_ were you playing at?"

"She… she's lying…" Sophia finally protested and Gallant shook his head.

"No, she isn't. You are, I can feel it."

" _SHADOW STALKER TO MY OFFICE NOW!_ " Director Piggot's voice almost screamed out of the loudspeaker and Sophia Hess shook her head.

"No! No! Nonononono! That bitch! That fucking bitch! I'll kill her! I'll make her wish that she _died_ in that lo…"

Dennis lowered his hand and looked round.

"Does anyone know how to restrain her?"


	2. Gunstar - The Last Starfighter

Gunstar Defense Force Internal Memo  
Galactic date :- 4,075 F.L. 27 Oclan  
From :- Ambassador Enduran  
To :- The Council  
Re :- Future Of The Gunstar Defense Fleet

Memo :- With the victory of Starfighter Alex Rogan (Human, Sol III, Age :- 18 Sol III years, 12 Galactic Standard Years) and Navigator Grig (R'TiLL, R'TiLLia, 24 Galactic Standard Years) in the currently unnamed prototype Gunstar II over the Ko-Dan forces led by the traitor Xur, the state of our interstellar defense arrangement has been placed under the ultrascope and has been found to be severely deficient, if not virtually nonexistent. With this in mind, I therefore propose the following:-

1 :- The immediate promotion of both Alex Rogan and Grig to Admiral (Earth-equivalent to Upper-Leader), and their immediate assignment to oversee the rebuilding and maintenance of the Gunstar Defense Fleet.  
2 :- Increased funding of the G.D.F with the aim of at least 1,000 operational units by the end of 4,100 F.L.  
3 :- Earth (Sol III, Star designation Sol, Reference Phi/Gamma 2341) to be granted provisional membership of the League under a new category, thus allowing us to recruit more Humans into the G.D.F.  
4 :- Enhanced exploration of the unknown regions, with instructions to pay extra attention to Sol III analogues, both for new G.D.F. willing sentients, and possible locations for Human colonies to ensure future Starfighter recruits.

I await the response of the Council.  
Enduran of Rylos, Ambassador Grade VIII

* * *

Gunstar Defense Force Internal Memo  
Galactic Date :- 4,079 F.L. 8 Bitrok  
From :- Admiral Alex Rogan and Admiral Grig  
To :- The Council  
Re :- Annual Status Report For The Gunstar Defense Fleet

Memo :- Current G.D.F. Status is as follows:-  
Gunstar Carriers :- 9 Active, 3 Under Repair, 14 Under Construction  
Starcruisers :- 18 Active, 8 under Repair, 40 Under Construction  
Scoutships :- 40 Active, 6 Under Repair, 92 Under Construction  
Gunstar Squadrons :- 40 Active, 6 In Reserve, 30 Under Construction

Standard Battle Group confirmed as :-  
Gunstar Carrier :- 1 (One / 0001)  
Starcruiser :- 2 (Two / 0010)  
Scoutship :- 4 (Four / 0100)  
Gunstar Squadrons :- 4 (Four / 0100)  
12 (Twelve / 1100) Gunstars per squadron

Computer Analysis suggests that at least 40 Battlegroups should be in deployed/deployment capable modes for 97% safety.  
So far, we have the ability to field 10 full Battlegroups.  
We are still expanding, and should reach optimum levels in six G.S.Y's.

Admiral Alex Rogan of Sol III  
Admiral Grig of R'TiLLia

* * *

Gunstar Defense Force Internal Memo  
Galactic Date :- 4,080 F.L. 2 Pritla  
From :- Admiral Alex Rogan and Admiral Grig  
To :- The Council  
Re :- Gunstar Academy (Sol III)

Memo :- The Gunstar Academy on Earth (Sol III) has been officially opened, and has already attracted many applicants, both from Earth and off it. In 4 Standard Earth Years (Approx 2.6 G.S.Y), the current class of students will graduate, prepared for whichever position they applied for, whether it be Starfighter, Navigator, Tech, Capital Ship Crew or Command Staff. With the influx of warriors from the armies of many of the old Earth nations, the Gunstar Defense Fleet is currently operating at 99.86% of current optimum, and at 113% of expected. Extra funding has been requested, and new projections suggest that projected optimum size will be achieved by 4,097 F.L. once combat losses are included.

Admiral Alex Rogan of Sol III  
Admiral Grig of R'TiLLia

* * *

**GUNSTAR DEFENSE FORCE**

NEEDS

**YOU**

PILOTS AND STARFIGHTERS REQUIRED URGENTLY TO PROTECT THE LEAGUE

**BE THE BEST**

**FIGHT AMONG THE STARS**

APPLICATIONS TO :- GUNSTAR ACADEMY

ARIZONA

NORTH AMERICA

SOL III

TELEVIEWER CODE 754-333-GUNSTAR

* * *

**Academy**

The sun shone brightly overhead, reflecting off the white marble facing of the primary building of the sprawling Interstellar Space Exploration And Defense Academy, or the Gunstar Academy as it was more commonly called. In the third row of the massed, predominantly human, Starfighter Cadets, Josh Rogan looked up at the large marble Archway that marked the entrance to the Academy, and allowed his mind to drift back to the first time that he had seen it...

_"Wow!"_

_Alex laughed as he reached back to tap Josh's shoulder._

_"Strap in, son, we're going to land in a minute. There might be a bit of turbulence, and I don't want you starting your first lesson with a large number of bruises, your teachers might think you got into a fight."_

_Josh laughed and sat back in his seat, allowing the automatic harness to deploy, holding him firmly against the seat. In front of him, a screen showed the view underneath the shuttle._

_"Will I meet Grig again?"_

_"Oh yes, he'll be there, as will Jhohn."_

_Josh smiled._

_"I like Jhohn."_

_"Yes, but I wish that Grig hadn't named him after my dad. I mean, a R'TiLL called Jhohn? Only Grig could break with tradition like that."_

_"Must be your influence!"_

_Alex laughed at that as he feathered the throttle expertly and powered up the shuttle's anti-gravity unit._

_"True. This is shuttle Alpha-One to control, Alex Rogan speaking. Coming in on vector three-one-seven. Request landing permission."_

_There was a brief silence, then a respect-filled human voice replied over the comm-unit._

_"Admiral Rogan, this is control. Permission granted, Pad One, alongside shuttle Alpha-two. You have a friend waiting."_

_"Copy control. Alpha-one locked and descending."_

_Josh looked out of the cockpit at the ground coming towards them._

_"Dad! It's Grig! And Jhohn"_

_Josh started waving, and the humanoid lizard below waved back, as did the smaller version of him by his side._

_"Calm down, son. Sit back, we're coming in to land..."_

Josh pulled himself out of his memories and glanced over to his left, where Jhohn stood at attention next to him. As if he had read his mind, Jhohn glanced back and a corner of his stiff mouth twitched in a small smile before he returned his attention straight ahead. Josh also looked ahead, where an aged Rylan was walking with dignity towards the podium. Stepping onto the dais, he held up one hand, and the low conversations of the audience tapered off. Smiling slightly, he looked over at two figures half-hidden by the crowd, then began to speak.

"Greetings to all sentients here. For those of you who do not recognize me, I am Enduran of Rylos, the Commandant of the Interstellar Space Exploration And Defense Academy. Today, we are here to celebrate the graduation of another group of sentients willing to risk their lives to ensure that we will stay alive, who will live and die in the line of duty, that the rest of us may live in peace and harmony. When these sentients arrived here, there were far more of them, and they were filled with dreams. Now, the toughest of these dreamers stand before you, the strongest and the most flexible. Admiral Grig."

One of the two obscured figures strode forwards and it was all Josh could do to not grin. Grig leaped onto the dais, saluted Enduran and then stood behind the Podium, glancing down at the prompt-screen before speaking.

"It is my pleasure today to announce as truth what has been rumor for the last six months. Many of the records that have stood for the last ten years have not just been broken, but have been truly _smashed_ , by a single Gunstar Trainee team, a Starfighter and Navigator working in almost telepathic harmony."

Grig paused dramatically, and Josh used his peripheral vision to look around him, trying to work out who Grig was referring to.

"This team even managed to break the Accuracy and Total scores for the Rylos Scenario, gaining perfect scores."

Behind Grig, a screen rose and brightened before darkening into a starfield with a simulated Gunstar in the middle. Two other screens bracketed it, and as Josh saw himself on one and Jhohn on the other, his memory catapulted him back to the training mission.

_"Ko-Dan command ship passing overhead."_

_Josh nodded slightly._

_"Prepare for overboost on engines when we launch, I want us to be breaking the sound barrier within the time it takes to sneeze."_

_"That may put some strain on the engines, they'll need total re-tuning afterwards."_

_"If we don't stop the command ship, there may not BE an afterwards."_

_Jhohn nodded and pressed several controls._

_"NOW"_

_As both Jhohn and Josh shouted, Jhohn's clawed fist descended on an otherwise innocuous button. With an incredible howl, the Gunstar rocketed forwards, slamming both of them back into their seats. The Ko-Dan fighters, caught by surprise , tried to dodge the seemingly suicidal streak of metal, and many collided. Josh spun in his seat and opened fire, destroying entire formations of Ko-Dan fighters as they scrambled to escape from the deadly craft._

_"Ten milliparts to strike!"_

_Josh nodded and spun again, devastating a squadron that was trying to sneak into a firing position._

_"Five milliparts."_

_Josh's fingers danced on the switches as he unleashed waves of directed energy in precisely controlled arcs and strikes._

_"Two milliparts!"_

_Josh spun his chair once more, shredding another two squadrons, then focussed on the small communications blister on the underside of the flagship._

_"In range!"_

_As Jhohn shouted those two words, Josh fired all weapons at the blister, which exploded into a million pieces. Instantly changing his aim, he fired on the metal exoskeleton that held the port engine. Seeing what Josh was doing, Jhohn directed the Gunstar into a single loop round the spar, then aimed at the remnants of the armada that was still heading for Rylos. Josh kept firing on the strut until it broke, then spun round and started to obliterate the rear squadrons. A few seconds later, the remaining Ko-Dan fighters woke up to their threat and spun round, weapons blazing._

_"The command ship!"_

_Reacting to Josh's command, Jhohn spun the Gunstar round and fired all engines at max thrust while Josh sent several waves of energy at the pursuing fighters. Ahead of them, the Command Ship spun out of control, shedding pieces as it rotated. Jhohn carefully evaded the debris, then threaded through the spinning remnants of the command ship while Josh fired missiles in all directions. Bursting out of the wreckage, Jhohn flipped the Gunstar round again, just in time to see the Command Ship explode, taking all the remaining Ko-Dan fighters with it._

The crowd cheered, jolting Josh back out of his memories. On the screen ahead of him, the debris of the simulated command ship and the wrecked fighters expanded as the camera zoomed in and round, revealing the barely-scratched sim-Gunstar. Grig turned back to face the audience and held up a hand for quiet.

"Thank you. It is my pleasure to announce the Team of Honor for this year, Josh Rogan of Sol III and Jhohn of R'TiLLia!"

A roar of applause slammed into Josh's ears and he all but staggered under the weight of the applause. Slowly it died down, and Admiral Rogan took the stand.

"Thank you for the applause. Now, as of 4097 F.L, 15th Bitrok, I now confirm you to be ensigns of the Gunstar Defense Force. May you live long, and fight well!"

"Live long and fight well!" roared the massed ensigns before breaking into spontaneous cheers.

.

"Wow!"

Beside him, Jhohn released a fluttering breath in the R'TiLLian method of expressing awe and amazement as he leaned backwards slightly to take in the sight of the tall column of scarred yet highly polished metal and technology that was the original Gunstar Mk II, the very ship that their respective fathers had flown into the battle that had saved the League. Behind them, Louis Rogan laughed lightly, without any mockery.

"I know, it gets me like that every time, the thought that my older brother sat in the Gunners seat and along with Grig, destroyed an entire Ko-Dan fleet. To me, that is amazing."

Louis manipulated a control, and the platform that they were standing on rose smoothly to the level of the Navigation station, where the seat looked like an afterthought added to the vast array of buttons, switches and newer touch-screens.

"Your dads still fly it now and again, you know. They got its systems and controls upgraded, but they ordered that the outer-hull be left as it was, to be instantly recognisable." Louis laughed lightly. "The League is so advanced, and yet the notion of customizable touch-screens totally passed them by. That innovation alone sent Grig into paroxysms of joy when he had them installed."

Once again the platform rose, this time only a small distance, stopping next to a second chamber, this one containing a Starfighter-seat, and a second seat recessed in the bulkhead behind it.

"Although your dad had that seat installed for Maggie, I got to sit in it when he collected me for training on Rylos. That was quite a ride, with that rogue Ko-Dan assault squad..."

Josh elbowed his uncle.

"Uncle, you didn't bring us here to enthuse over the most famous Gunstar in existence."

Louis looked abashed, and then allowed the platform to descend gently back to ground level.

"Sorry, just trying to get you into the required heroic mood."

"And indeed we are." said Jhohn. "Why did you want it, honor-uncle?"

Louis waved them towards a nondescript door, and produced a small security-chip which he fed into a disguised dataslot. With a near-silent hiss, the door opened slowly, retracting into the wall. As it opened, both Josh and Jhohn were astonished to see that it was almost a meter thick. Louis darted through, and yanked them both after him as the door finished opening and started to close again. Before them, a second door opened with incredible speed, revealing a bat-winged humanoid pointing a heavy multi-barrel pulse rifle at them. They all froze, then the humanoid nodded and lowered his rifle.

"Hi boss. These must be the newbie's."

"Indeed they are. This is my nephew Joshua Rogan, Josh for short, and Jhohn of R'TiLLia, son of Grig. Kids, these are my second in command, Kal'Thon the Mak'ton'Drak."

Kal'Thon bowed slightly, pulling his leathery wings inwards so that they resembled a cloak.

"The others are waiting for you."

Louis nodded and strode forward with Josh and Jhohn in tow. Behind them, Kal'Thon pressed several buttons on a recessed pad, and then followed them. They all came to a halt on a balcony overlooking a huge enclosed landing pit, in which a Starcruiser rested in a special cradle. Emblazoned on the flank of the Cruiser was a huge bronze Dragon, wings and talons fully extended. Looking along the port side of the 400 metre vessel, Josh noted the reduced armament, and the inclusion of three large hatches, each one big enough for a Gunstar to fly through. The belly of the ship boasted a bigger hatch surrounded by atmospheric-field generators and tractor beams. Louis made a sweeping gesture towards it.

"This is the Dragonwing, your newest base of operations. Boasting a crew of twenty four operatives, and fifty techs and crew, the Dragonwing has been rebuilt from the keel out. It holds six Hyper-Gunstars, which officially do not exist, and can launch them within ten seconds. It is also equipped with a stealth field, enhanced defensive shields and more powerful engines, making it faster in realspace and OverSpeed than even a Scout ship. However, it only has 12 laser batteries and four forward-firing missile tubes for defense, as its mission is to get the Hyper-Gunstars into range of the target, deploy them, then hide until the action is over."

As he spoke, the balcony descended until it reached an open airlock on the port stabilizer of the ship. Louis led them inside and tapped a comm-panel.

"Captain, this is Commodore Rogan. We're all aboard."

" _Acknowledged, Commodore Rogan. We'll depart in ten minutes._ "

Josh and Jhohn followed Louis into the main briefing room of the ship and stopped as they came face-to-face with Kal'Thon and eight other beings, seated around the walls but facing the podium. Louis nodded to them, and then turned to face Josh and Jhohn.

"I have already briefed the squadron about you, so now I'll introduce you to them. First we have my navigator, Altana of Rylos."

The female Rylan raised a hand in greeting, and then dropped it.

"Next, we have Kal'Thon from Gir'igr, and next to them.. what?"

"Them?"

Louis smiled. "Yes, them. Kal'Thon are a fusion entity, Kal, a Makton who provides the ability to manipulate objects and to communicate verbally, and Thon, a Tondrak, a sentient flying touch-telepath. The two of them form Kal'Thon, and both we and they always refer to them in the plural. So, next to them we have their navigator, Ingg from R'Tillia's third colony. Next up, Slammer the Bodati, we cannot pronounce his real name, and his Navigator Kilk of Shro-Al. Frank Parks is teamed with Altara, twin of 'Tana and finally Xir, son of Enduran, and his Navigator Ro'oon from Woaould. I fly as Gold, Kal'Thon as Silver, Slammer as Red, Fank as Blue and Xir as Green. What colour do you two want?"

Josh and Jhohn glanced at each other, and Josh answered, "Black."

Louis nodded, and turned to Kal'thon, holding out his hand. Kal'thon frowned at him, and handed over a credit chip, as did Altara. At Josh's raised eyebrow, he grinned.

"Kal'thon said that you would go for grey and 'Tara guessed at white. I knew you both, and said black."

"Well," Jhosh said in an attempt to quell the glare that Josh was giving his uncle, "Shall we see our Gunstar?"


	3. Dragonpower - Worm & HTTYD

The smell was horrible and I had only a brief second to realize that the bottom third of my locker was filled with used tampons and other rubbish before I was propelled forwards, slamming into the back of the locker. The door slammed shut behind me and I could hear the lock engage even through the sudden burst of cackling.

"Let me out!" I screamed, but the noise outside my locker drowned my voice and I found myself unable to inhale enough for another scream because of the stench of the waste that I was standing in.

The bell rang and I frantically pounded on the locker door, but no-one answered and the sound died away, leaving me alone.

I needed to get out!

I needed someone to save me!

I needed…

_Two giant beings spiraling through infinite space with the crashing of crystals  
_ _A shard heading straight towards me, glowing in colours I had never seen before  
_ _AGREEMENT_

…help!

The locker door suddenly bent at the corner and I almost screamed as a giant claw punched through and then the door was ripped out of its frame. The fresh air galvanized me and I staggered forwards, tripping on the waste that blocked my feet and falling…

…landing on something heavy that _oof_ ed from the impact.

I fumbled to re-adjust my glasses so that I could see even as I pushed myself back to my feet and turned to see a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth.

.

"Uuuurgh."

The world slowly swam back into focus and I tried to push myself up, only to freeze as I realised that I was not where I had been.

To either side, large black wings beat rhythmically and ahead of me was the head of whatever it was that had pulled me out of my locker. Tightening my grip, I peered down and far below, the lights of Brockton Bay were spread out like scattered jewels.

A whimper escaped my throat despite my best attempts and the dragon on whose back I was riding turned slightly, tilting his/her(?) head so that one eye could focus on me.

"Ummm, hi?" I squeaked and the dragon _churrrr_ 'd in what seemed to be laughter, then it made a querying noise.

"Um, can you take me home?"

The dragon nodded, then made another querying noise and I peeked over its shoulder again, trying to orient myself. That was the boardwalk, those shapes in the water were the docks, and that meant… there!

"My home is over there." I whispered, pointing briefly before regaining my grip and the dragon banked and entered a shallow dive, moving as if it was being careful not to drop me.

I was very grateful for that. I had no wish to _be_ dropped.

.

The dragon (and I _had_ to find a name for it) backwinged to a near-perfect landing on the lawn of my house. It would have been a true perfect landing if the final impact hadn't caused my grip to slip and sent me tumbling onto the grass.

"Owwwww." I whispered, then a large snout nudged me. "I'm okay."

A happy whine was my answer as I sat up, then the front door opened and my dad stood there, silhouetted by the hall light.

"Taylor? Aren't you over at Emma's like she called to say… what the hell?"

"Dad?" I said, feeling lunatic hilarity taking me over. "Meet my new friend, Midnight. Midnight, this is my dad, Danny Hebert."

Midnight nodded , flipping his ears? headfins? in greeting and Danny nodded back, his face slack with shock.

"Hello." He said, then he facepalmed. "Urgh, Taylor, why do you have a dragon?"

.

The straps attached to the saddle that dad had helped me to make held firmly as Midnight soared through the darkening sky. Perched on his back, I held onto the handles at the front of the saddle with a grip so tight that I was almost surprised that the metal bar (taken from an old bike) wasn't bending under the strain.

For myself, I had a full-face helmet that Dad and I had painted to look like the head of a dragon, with the visor being the mouth. A leather jacket with armoured inserts scavenged from one of dad's old protective vests kept me warm while my legs were protected by cargo pants and a set of leather panels that hung like a skirt when I was standing, but which let me ride astride without difficulty.

In holsters on my belt I carried pepper spray and a small taser while a hatchet was secured across the small of my back, allowing me to grab it quickly if I needed it.

With the need to look after Midnight (fortunately, he ate fish and liked to catch them himself), dad and I had agreed that I could home-study and that we would cite the destruction of my locker as the final straw should Winslow try to raise a fuss.

Not that they would.

Movement below caught my attention and I shifted my weight, tapping Midnight with my knee to get him to swoop lower. Below us, a pair of figures leapt across the rooftops, one moving in a way that almost hurt my eyes while the second turned into a shadowy shape as it leapt over alleyways.

"Let's give them a flyby!" I laughed and Midnight let our a purr of agreement as his swoop turned into a power dive.

.

Vista ground her teeth as Shadow Stalker ran ahead of her, crossbow ready, then something swooped down from the heavens and raced past with a sound similar to tearing canvas. Vista froze, staring in shock at the now-receding shape while Shadow Stalker swore as she picked herself up from the gravel where her panicked dive had sent her.

"What the _fuck_ was _that_?" Shadow Stalker demanded and Vista grinned.

"It was a dragon!" She whispered in delight. "There's a real _dragon_ in Brockton Bay!"


	4. Justice - Worm

Director Piggot stared in near-shock at the picture of Sophia Hess lying in a hospital bed, her right shoulder bandaged where one of her crossbow quarrels had been extracted. Her face was severely bruised and her left arm was in plaster.

"What happened?"

"A Trigger event, ma'am." Colin replied. "A very… unusual one."

"A trigger event did _that_?" Piggot asked, waving the sheaf of documents and pictures in the air.

"Yes… and no." Armsmaster responded, causing Piggot to look at him in surprise. "The actual damage was taken when she attacked the person who underwent the trigger. However, the trigger event itself affected every person within half a mile of Winslow High School. All of them."

Piggot blinked. "Explain."

"Sophia Hess and two others have been bullying the girl in question, a Taylor Hebert." Colin said. "They have been doing so for over a year…"

"And no-one picked up on this?" Piggot snarled.

"The case-worker helped to cover it up, as did the principal at Winslow. Both are under arrest."

Emily nodded and motioned for Colin to continue.

"Yesterday, Sophia Hess and her two… acquaintances… locked Miss Hebert into her own locker, one which they had filled with used feminine hygiene products. Miss Hebert triggered in the locker… and switched places with Hess as a side-effect. Her power is… no. I will explain after.

"Hess promptly phased out of her locker, inadvertently outing herself to several members of the ABB and E88. Realizing she had compromised her civilian identity, she blamed Miss Hebert for it and tried to attack her. However, Miss Hebert's power protected her."

Emily raised an eyebrow.

"It is a fascinating power. Everyone caught in the original pulse now has a small diamond sigil formed at the top of the neck, right where the spine meets the skull. The sigil is not visible as it is part of the bone itself and any attempt to surgically remove it will kill the person it is in as it encircles the entire spinal cord. However, the sigil generates a field in which consequences are suffered by the person trying to perform any hostile act. If you punch someone with the sigil, you take the hit. Poison them, the poison relocates to your own body. Blow them up in an explosion, the kinetic energy transfers to you as the instigator. However, the reverse is also true. If they hit you, they take the damage."

"So… this affected _everyone_ at Winslow?" Piggot asked disbelievingly.

"Everyone including Miss Hebert herself. I can also confirm that Hookwolf, Rune and Oni Lee were caught in the effect." Armsmaster stated. "The latter three are currently in hospital."

"My god…"

"Miss Hebert was unaware of what she had done, although she can detect the locations of all the sigils. An experiment performed with Strider's help has shown that the range is planetary. In addition, Miss Hebert can switch places with anyone who has a Sigil, although if the distance is more than ten meters, the person she is switching with has to be willing to swap. She can also bestow a Sigil on someone, but only if they are willing. In addition, she can remove the Sigil. Both are achieved by touching the area where the Sigil is formed. At this time, she is removing the Sigils from any non-gang-member who wishes to have it removed. A surprising number have stated that they wish to keep it, as they are of a pacifist nature and the Sigil will protect them from anyone who tries to harm them."

"And Shadow Stalker's injuries…?"

"Hess fired her crossbow at Miss Hebert. Fortunately, she was aiming to disable rather than kill, otherwise she would be in the morgue and not the hospital." Colin said. "I have already inducted Miss Hebert into the Wards and teamed her up with Vista, who now has a Sigil of her own due to her preference for non-violent techniques. Anyone who now attacks Vista will be in for a very unpleasant surprise."

Emily nodded slowly. The youngest Ward, if Colin was correct, now had what may be the ultimate defense.

"And… Taylor?"

"Is happy with the new arrangement." Colin said. "She is currently seeing if she can create a form of the Sigil that lets her swap with the person bearing it, but which does not actually generate the…"

"The…?"

"Clockblocker named it the Justice Field." Colin sighed. "I have been unable to come up with a more appropriate name."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a concept inspired by Red Dwarf, but given a few tiny twists. Taylor has an absolute defense, but she cannot actually attack or try to injure anyone as she would take the damage she tried to deal. Part of her story would be trying to turn the damned field off so that she could dope-slap Clockblocker for all his terrible jokes.


	5. A Dangerous Thing That Should Be Approached With Caution - Worm

Principal Blackwell dropped her head into her hands as the door slammed shut. Barely ten minutes ago, Taylor Hebert had been stretchered away after being shut into her locker, a locker filled with used tampons, sanitary towels and other toxic waste. When the Janitor had let her out, it was too late.

The girl had already Triggered.

The first sign that she had had that anything was wrong was when a dome of light expanded through the school, a moving wall that had apparently done nothing other than look odd as it expanded outwards.

The second sign had sent her into a near-panic.

She was unable to lie.

Even to herself.

Blackwell sighed. She had been so keen to keep the Ward at her school (with the financial rewards that entailed) that she had ignored what Hess had been doing, something that had been picked up by the other teachers over the last year and a half.

She couldn't lie to herself about it. She _needed_ that extra funding for the school, but now…

…now _no-one_ who had been hit by the dome of light could knowingly lie.

Armsmaster had just informed her that the school was being quarantined and Hess was being extracted before her identity was blown (assuming that it already hadn't been). The only saving grace was that the effect had been range-limited, less than half a mile across (which was still wide enough to cover the whole school and some of the surrounding neighborhood).

But what could she have done? Looking back, she had tried her best for the whole school, even if it meant that one or two pupils had to be sacrificed (metaphorically speaking) to stop them creating waves…

But the unpalatable truth that she could not deny was in the forefront of her mind.

Three little words with so much hurt in them.

She.  
Had.  
Failed.

.

Emma Barnes wept in the bathroom. The light that had swept across the classroom earlier had stripped away all of her self-delusion, all of the lies that she had told herself in an attempt to hide the truth within.

She was weak.

Taylor Hebert had been her best friend, they had strengthened each other until she had thrown that friendship away in favor of one with the ward that had only moved to save her after she had tried to fight.

Taylor would have charged in immediately.

Her attempts to prove herself stronger than Taylor had backfired. She could see that now. Taylor had risen above her, had attained greater strength than Emma had ever seen.

The strength to hold back.

This had been proven to her when she asked Madison what she thought of Emma, and her words had struck at her heart.

"I think you're a vicious bitch who loves to inflict pain on others to make herself feel good and I only follow you so that I don't become a target myself."

The light had stripped away all lies.

Even the ones that people could tell themselves.

Broken and desolate, Emma Barnes wept.

.

Armsmaster looked at the small picture being projected in the corner of his visor. A small part of his mind calculated ways that the definition could be increased, but most of his attention was on the conversation he was having with Dragon.

"…say again?"

" _As soon as word got out that she was still generating a truth-field, albeit one stretching only twelve feet away from her, the government banned her from going to Washington or near any other seat of power. In addition, every single student and teacher at Winslow has been deemed unsuitable for government work due to the effect that Miss Hebert's Trigger had."_

Armsmaster managed not to snort with laughter. He didn't understand why people lied, it was inefficient.

"Very well. Keep monitoring her, please."

" _Of course, Colin."_

Armsmaster changed radio channels with a well-practiced flick-and-twitch of his eyes. "Armsmaster to PRT Control, I need someone to pick up a Mr Danny Hebert, father of Taylor Hebert, and bring him to the hospital where his daughter is."

A file flicked up on the other side of his visor and Armsmaster frowned in confusion.

"Possible S-Class threat? Hebert? Why?"

" _Say again, sir?"_

Armsmaster refocused his attention. "Ignore last comment."

" _Yes sir."_

.

Dragon's circuits hummed as she ran extrapolations and cross-references.

Used correctly (as so many powers were not), Taylor Hebert could be the greatest force for justice in the world.

Dragon made a small note to have Taylor Hebert attend the upcoming trial of the metahuman known as Canary. Too many flags had been raised suggesting that the singer was about to become an object lesson and sent to the Birdcage just because her power triggered at _exactly_ the wrong time.

Maybe the _aura of truth_ could prevent that…

.

Coil swore as he received a report that one of his PRT moles had been discovered…

…in _both_ timelines simultaneously.

The PRT was now aware of his penetration of them, that he was spying on what they did.

He would need to rethink quite a few of his schemes.

Maybe he would seize the precog Alcott sooner…

One of his selves sent out the message while the other considered the possible ramifications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, it's the basis for an AltPower!Taylor plot. Taylor wields the Truth.


	6. Small Advantages - Worm

I looked at the thing in front of me and through it, I looked back at myself.

After _the incident_ , I awoke to find that I had gained full control over my body. I could adjust my adrenaline, modify my bones, enhance my muscles and actually develop breasts (finding out the hard way that they ached when I ran. Thank god for the Alexandria line of Sports Bras). Of course, the thing was, the larger the change, the longer it took. Hormone control? Real-time. Enhancing my eyes so I didn't need glasses? An hour. Adjusting muscles and bone? That took me almost a week. Growing actual boobs? A fortnight (and totally worth it).

On the other hand, my power left me looking almost like a ghost. My skin was so pale, it was almost translucent. I put it down as a side-effect and it was, but not how I thought.

Then when I was in the library, one of the trio threw a coin at me, a coin which cut my forehead open and a few spots of silvery blood fell down, landing on the casing of the computer and dripping through.

And that was when I _knew_.

Through my blood, I could _feel_ the data flowing through the circuits. My awareness expanded as I _understood_ the computer, both on a physical level and an informational one.

Despite what it sounds like, it wasn't instant, it took a couple of hours to reach a useful stage, but through the computer, I could access the internet at any time, any place.

With no-one knowing.

When I got home, I pulled out a digital camera that dad had won in a raffle one year, but had never been able to get working. Opening it up, I used a pin to shed a drop of blood into it, and soon, I could _understand_ it. How the lens and sensor worked, how it turned the picture into a file, how it could store it on a card.

How to _change_ it.

Soon, I had it re-shaped into a small helicopter with the camera at the front, a camera that I could see through without effort.

My smile would have done that bitch Sophia proud.

With this, I could keep watch over myself. Shift the imagery to the computer and put it on Viewtube.

The teachers wouldn't be able to deny the bullying at school for much longer.

-:-:-:-

Damn it!

Sophia was a Cape! And not just _any_ cape, she was Shadow Stalker!

My drone had watched her reach into my new locker and steal my purse.

If I released the imagery, the Protectorate would come after me. They'd find out about my power and force me to join the Wards, the same damned Wards as that sanctimonious bitch!

I had to use my power to lower my hormones to a level that allowed me to think clearly.

I needed more access to the internet, more things under my control.

I needed… to be _more_.

-:-:-:-

My trip to the Boat Graveyard went without a hitch. It's something of a retreat for those who want to be alone for one reason or another. Rumor has it that at least one of the rusting hulls has been re-purposed, whether as a nightclub, Merchant's drug lab, secret villain base or whatever. Not that I cared.

Instead, I walked to one of the furthest boats reachable at low tide and smeared some of my blood on it. It went to work almost instantly, eating into and merging with the hull as it reproduced.

When it was finished, I would have several tons of the silvery liquid ready to do with as I wished. Although it would take several weeks, the wait would be worth it.

-:-:-:-

By adapting my drone, I was able to have it carry small thimblefuls of my blood to wherever I needed to create a new link. I no longer needed to cut myself to shed the liquid, instead it oozed out through small pores in my skin whenever I wished it to.

The ship in the harbor was already half-converted, although anyone looking at it wouldn't see any difference. I had been riffling through the internet, downloading schematics for armor plating and mecha-suits from Japanese cartoons. Most were impractical, but some of them, I could make work. Given how much of my Silverblood I was going to have available, perhaps a transforming suit with me safely ensconced in a small reinforced shell would be a good idea.

One thing that caught my attention was a set of transmission dishes that didn't seem to belong to anyone. I sent my drone to co-opt them for my use.

Soon I would become a _true_ hero.

-:-:-:-

Testing out of school was easy with my link to the internet. By quoting rules and regulations to Principal Blackwell as well as playing on… _the incident_ , I'd managed to sort-of blackmail her into letting me test out. I could have scored full marks, but that would have caused suspicion, so I calculated the average score and split the difference between that and full.

It worked.

Dad was quite surprised, but I managed to fob him off with an _"I got a Thinker power in that locker"_ excuse.

God, I felt so bad, lying to him.

But now, it was time. At the Boatyard, I called my Silverblood to me, wrapping it round me and compressing it down. My rooftop link into the Protectorate base had allowed me access to their secure files, including data on pocket dimensions.

It was easy to build a small dimensional pocket to hold the excess with the entrance to it contained in a small geodesic sphere just small enough to hold with my thumbs and fingers touching as they encircled it, a thin strand connecting the sphere to me.

And that was when the idea occurred to me.

My entire body was now saturated with Silverblood to the point that modifications that had taken weeks before, now took seconds. I didn't hesitate as I opened the casing, pressed it against my chest and _poured_ myself into it, hiding my vulnerable organic parts away even as I used some of my Silverblood to recreate a copy of my body _around_ the sphere.

With my outer body now an artificial but fully-functional puppet capable of infinite forms and my true self floating in perfect safety, encased and supported by at least a thousand tons of Silverblood, I was now probably one of the most powerful Capes in existence barring Scion himself.

But what name should I use?

I accessed the Internet again, cross-referencing various languages and concepts, then I discovered one which seemed to be just _perfect_ given what I could do.

Given what I _was_.

The name seemed to sing as I created an alt-form for myself. Masculine in appearance to separate me from my other personae. Plate armor designed with tiny etchings and ridges giving the appearance of the plates having been molded. Small pistons to make people believe that it was power armor, thus explaining my strength.

And visible in a small gap in the helm, a partial face was visible from the nose down with skin _just_ dark enough that the Empire 88 would never think to try and recruit me.

I _grew_ a jetpack on my back, using files on anti-gravity devices to give me aerial mobility, and a knee-length cape to cover it as I walked. A kite-shaped shield on my arm and a sword on my hip completed the transformation and now no-one would ever link me with my new self

Mercurius Bellator.

The Quicksilver Knight.

Grinning inside my hidden sanctuary, I poured my awareness into my puppet and took to the skies.

-:-:-:-

"…and if any of them go down, double-tap them to be certain." Lung finished and I ground my teeth in rage.

He was sending his men to kill _children_!

I needed _something_ big to make me stand out as a hero and it would seem that Lung had just volunteered.

Even as I put one foot on the parapet of the roof in preparation for my dramatic entrance, I simultaneously accessed the Protectorates tactical systems. The nearest Cape was Armsmaster on Patrol and even he was over five minutes away.

Five minutes for me to prove myself.

Even as the first shout from below marked someone with above-average awareness had spotted me, I launched myself into the air, somersaulting and flaring my cloak to slow myself slightly before I slammed onto the road in a three-point landing. Rising to my feet, I unsheathed my sword, channeling more Silverblood to it so that the blade that I brandished was obviously far longer than could have fit inside the scabbard.

Lungs eyes widened behind his metal mask and I smirked at him.

"Thy reign of terror ends tonight, dragon!" I declaimed, using my experiences from my brief membership of the school drama club (back when I was still friends with… _her_ ,) to be as dramatic as possible.

As the first bullets _ping_ ed off my armor, I stepped forwards, using my shield to block Lung's first punch, then thrust with my sword, scoring his shoulder and shedding first blood.

.

_Armsmaster stared at the sight before him in shock. Lung was lying motionless on the ground, wrapped up in metallic bonds. Behind Lung, standing proud and with both hands clasped on the pommel of his greatsword, a man stood in a pose eerily reminiscent of AllFather, but the darkness of his chin showed that he had no link to the Empire 88._

_The tableaux was made even more astonishing by the person next to Lung. The teleporter Oni Lee was kneeling on the ground, blindfolded and with his hands cuffed behind his back while around them, gang members had been knocked down and chained to various buildings or lamp-posts._

" _Armsmaster." The armored figure nodded in greeting. "Know that I have done thy task for thee and remember mine words, for I am Mercurius Bellator and I claim the rank of Protector of Brocton Bay. See before thee the truth of mine words."_

_Armsmaster lowly advanced, then froze again as Bellator lifted his greatsword into the air before sheathing it in a scabbard far too small to have held it._

" _I shall leave these knaves and rogues in thy hands, Armsmaster, and charge thee with ensuring their trial and imprisonment. Fail not in this mission."_

_Before Armsmaster could respond, Bellator's cape flared outwards and he rose rapidly into the air, vanishing into the sky._

_How the hell was he going to report this?_

.

" _Holy fuck." Tattletale breathed as the Undersiders watched their unexpected savior fly away. "I couldn't get a single reading from him! Not one!"_

" _We can discuss this back at the base." Grue said, clambering onto one of the enhanced dogs. "Let's go."_

_Tattletale stared up at the sky for a long moment, then back down at where Armsmaster was checking the bound forms of the two ABB Capes._

" _Holy fuck. He managed to Master Lung!"_

_._

* * *

_._

* * *

_._

**The Order Of The Shield**

Dad was quite surprised to learn that I was a Cape. In order to avoid worrying him, I carefully didn't tell him about how I now only interacted with the world using a puppet replica of my body, instead I explained how I could create a metal that I could use to build almost anything, such as the shields that I had been placing around Brockton Bay during my patrols, shields through which I could see what was happening and, via the dimensional links I maintained, could use to form my _Mercurius Bellator_ form.

He was also impressed when I admitted that I was the reason that half of the wrecks blocking the Docks had mysteriously vanished, meaning that the Docks could re-open for business.

Apparently the PRT had been going nuts trying to work out who had stolen the rusting hulks, and how.

Served them right for having _Hess_ in their ranks.

Of course, with Lung and Oni Lee captured and imprisoned, I found myself facing off against a new enemy.

The E88 were trying to expand.

.

"Halt, evil-doer!"

Even as I said it, I felt myself cringing. I sounded like Mouse Protector!

It worked, though. Kaiser turned to face me and for a moment, I contemplated how we looked similar in our shells of metal.

"Ah, you are the one who took down Lung." Kaiser noted as Hookwolf loped up to his side while in behind him, Frenja and Menja (I _really_ should have checked which was which…) stood weapons ready, almost twelve feet high.

"You realize you cannot win." Kaiser continued, waving at his followers. "It is a shame that you are not Aryan enough to be part of the superior race, but for your actions against the inferiors Lung and Oni Lee, I will let you leave unharmed. Leave and you will not be pursued."

I tapped into the Protectorate Data-net just long enough to learn that most of the PRT Capes were caught up in a series of battles against the other E88 Capes, then I grinned.

"I care not for those who claim superiority through an accident of genetics, especially when their own branch of humanity has significantly less genetic variance than that from which they descended. Nevertheless, I shall offer mercy to you. Surrender now and I shall see that you remain unharmed."

Kaiser shook his head and thrust his hand towards me. "You had a chance, now you shall die!"

I felt an odd ripple as his power tried and failed to gain purchase on the collection of nanomachines that I was piloting and Kaiser stepped back, somehow looking disconcerted despite his body-encompassing armor.

"My turn." I stated, widening the portal inside my puppet and pouring more nanomachines through it. It must have been quite a sight to see as I seemed to create new armor modules from underneath my cloak, the additions moving round and forming to raise me up until I towered twenty feet tall, my expanded shield and sword held as if they weighed almost nothing, then I _moved_. The gravity-generation units in my limbs gave me far more strength than normal machinery could have provided and the giantess I slammed into with my shield was sent flying backwards like an over-sized rag-doll. The other lunged at me with her spear, but I formed another pair of arms, using my new right hand to catch it and hold it immobile while my lower left hand threw a metal sphere at her head, one which unfolded into a blindfold that anchored itself using her hair and pores. As she dropped her spear to claw at the blindfold, I sheathed my sword before delivering a double-punch to her gut, folding her over, then slamming three fists against her head with carefully-calculated force, knocking her out.

As she shrank, I turned, crushing the blades Kaiser was frantically summoning, and threw another sphere at the fleeing form of Hookwolf. This time, I used it like a mass of tendrils, winding through his whirling blades and catching them to hold him immobile while the tendril which penetrated deeply enough to locate his biological core injected a anesthetic. Even as his blades began folding back into his unconscious form, I turned to Kaiser.

Part of me was impressed. He had thought he was in control until the Cape he was confronting had effectively summoned a giant Exosuit, yet he was still fighting. I didn't know how much of that was pride and how much was simply not understanding how things had changed so fast for him, but I had to give him points for courage.

Of course, it also made him an easy target for another of my spheres.

.

_Assault dived to avoid the cutting blast fired at him by Stormtiger, then he scrambled for shelter, pulling the unconscious form of Battery with one hand._

" _Fear not, Heroes, your deliverance is at hand!"_

_Assault cautiously looked round the wrecked car he was using as temporary protection against the aerokinetic, then he slowly stood up, staring in shock at the form of Mercurius Bellator who was holding the knocked-out Stormtiger in one metal-clad hand._

" _I give unto thee this foul miscreant." Bellator declaimed as he stepped forwards and dropped Stomtiger at his feet. "I charge thee with seeing to it that he doth not bring harm to the people of Brockton Bay any more."_

" _Erm… sure?"_

" _Then I bid thee good day, for thine colleagues require mine intervention to ensure that good doth triumph over evil! Fare thee well!"_

_Assault watched in numb shock as Bellator activated the jet-pack under his cloak and flew off._

.

Sophia Hess was having trouble fighting Rune… and to add more to the situation, Emma Barnes was hiding nearby, occasionally bobbing up to take a quick look before ducking again.

Oh, this was just too good to pass up.

Adjusting course, I landed on a rooftop and sprinted forwards, leaping into the air on a precisely-calculated arc that ended on the rock that Rune was using to fly on. The cloaked Cape spun round with a cry of shock, putting her in just the right position for me to crab her by the mask, firing a small burst of knockout-gas into her face. As she collapsed, the rock tumbled from the sky and I jumped off, carefully carrying her on my shoulder as I performed a Superhero landing, foot, knee and fist. Straighening up, I nodded at Hess.

"I saw that thou was outmatched greatly, thus I came to save thee."

Even through her mask, I could tell that Hess was glaring at me.

"Thank me not, harmless maiden, for it is mine duty to save those too weak and fragile to save themselves."

 _That_ got her. I could see her trembling with barely-suppressed rage… and there were at least _four_ people I could see in various windows recording this on their phones.

Now, how to push her over the edge… ah yes. That comment I overheard her make before I tested out of Winslow.

"Fear not, for should those who style themselves as Predators try to harm such an eager child as thineself, thou canst rely on me to instruct them that the usage of powers to bring pain to another is the mark of small-minded fools who will be…"

Sophia screamed as she fired her crossbow at me. Half-turning to ensure that it didn't hit Rune, I snatched the speeding bolt out of the air and gave a sigh.

"Forsooth, perhaps it be that thou art a villain instead, for only villains doth attack heroes."

"Shut! Up!" Sophia screamed as she swung the other crossbow up, then she froze as I grabbed it, lockign the quarrel in place. A brief squeeze and the crossbow shattered, leaving her holding just the stock. With a howl of race, she pulled out a dagger and lunged at me… only to collapse as she ran face-first into my knockout gas.

"Shame." I said as I scooped her up. "It is obvious that she is not suited to this task, of being a hero, but not all who have powers are capable of being better people. To her allies, I shall return her and someday, I hope that a hero she will eventually become."

As I flew off, the small recon-probe I had covertly deployed caught the gobsmacked expression on Emma's face. Idly, I checked Youview and smirked mentally as I saw the first video of the encounter was already uploaded.

This would severely damage Hess' reputation.

She deserved it.

.

_Director Piggot stared in horror at the screen in front of her._

" _Hess… just attacked an independent hero?" She shook her head in disbelief. "The same one that took down Kaiser, Hookwolf, Frenja, Menja_ and _Stormtiger in under an hour? What was she_ thinking _?"_

" _I… don't know." Armsmaster replied stiffly. "We cannot cover it up, it has spawned at least four threads on PHO already. We may need to either Rebrand Hess, or transfer her to another branch of the Wards."_

" _Who would take her?" Piggot groaned as the clip of Hess trying to shoot the Tinker-knight Bellator looped again. "And Bellator?"_

" _I've had his rating upgraded." Armsmaster said in a near-growl. "His ability to teleport additional armor to him means that he is at least a Tinker 7, probably 8 given how the pieces fitted together perfectly."_

" _At least we've now got most of the E88 Capes in prison." Piggot allowed. "How many of them were caught_ without _Bellator's help?"_

_Armsmaster shifted slightly and Piggot facepalmed._

" _Are you telling me that he helped take down_ all _of them?"_

_Armsmaster's silence was the only answer she needed._

.

The tapping on one of my shields was unusual enough to attract my attention. Seeing the young girl stood before my wall-mounted shield-node in one of the less genteel parts of town, I split the shield into quarters, sliding them apart to form the frame for a silvery pseudo-portal which I used to manifest my Bellator form even as I shared a meal with my father.

"Hello." The young girl said calmly, looking up at me. "I'm Dinah Alcott… and I need your help. I'm a Cape and if you don't help me… I'm going to be kidnapped."

 _That_ caught my attention.

.

" _Move in." Coil commanded in Timeline A while in Timeline B he told his mercenaries to hold position. The team charged the house, firing gas grenades filled with knockout gas through the windows and following an instant later as Coil watched the action relayed to him from their shoulder-mounted cameras. The well-drilled team charged past the collapsed forms of the parents and the leader was about to kick open the target's door when it opened, revealing his target clad in silver armor._

_Armour which looked worryingly familiar._

_Even as she began using the strength the armor provided to start throwing his assault troops through the walls while their tranq-rounds (and occasional bullet) bounced harmlessly off her, Coil dropped that timeline with a curse, realizing after that it had been more difficult to end than normal._

_It would seem that Bellator had got to her first and given her a suit of armor of her very own._

_He would have to rethink his plans._

.

If I still used my eyes, I would have blinked in shock as my links seemed to double without warning _again_. this time, though, I discovered what was happening. In one set of links, my Squire simply got ready for bed, the amulet that was my link to her resting around her neck. In the other set of links, a gas grenade smashed through her window and I pushed enough of my nanomachines through that link to form a suit of armor for her. The suited Dinah understood instantly what was going on and relaxed, letting me control her armor to fight off the attackers…

…then the link vanished, taking the nanomachines with them and leaving me with just _one_ timeline.

What had just happened?

My ruminations came to a halt as I picked up a message. Hess and the other Wards had been tasked with attending a bank robbery by the Undersiders.

I accessed the shield nearest to the bank in question. It was time to show Sophia up again.

Maybe I could get her to try and kill me. If she did, _everyone_ would decide that she wasn't hero material.

And if she went villain, I already knew how to take her down, thanks to the PRT files.


	7. Secret History Of The Minions - Despicable Me

**AKA How they really started…**

"For this plan to work, I need more minions." Gru mused, looking at the bustling yellow horde below him. "Perhaps… perhaps I can clone them… That will double their number and give me a true workforce…"

For a long moment, Gru stood in thought, barely noticing the worshiping gaze of his assistants. They had been worshiping him form the moment that they had met him during his attempted theft of the Crown Jewels in England and had given their total loyalty to him for reasons that they still hadn't explained, but he was used to that.

"Once I do this, I'll be able to afford Dr. Nefario's services…" Gru continued to muse. "In fact, I may be able to hire him now for this job…"

His decision made, Gru stalked out of the main hall of his underground base, pausing only to pat the heads of several of his admiring minions.

.

"Well, it can be done…" Neferio mused. "Of course, they'll just be babies… unless… hold on…"

Gru watched as Neferio rummaged in the back of the van that he had arrived in, then the older villain produced an odd-looking device with what looked like a neon-Y mounted on it.

"I… _ahem_ , borrowed this flux capacitor from a hero calling himself Doc Brown and modified it." Nefario smirked. "It creates a temporal field that'll let us grow the clones to maturity in moments."

"Wonderful." Gru smiled. "And will it work?"

"If it doesn't, I'll work for you at half my normal rates." Nefario scoffed. "And I'll throw in this mission for free."

"I think that this will be the beginning of a _beautiful_ friendship." Gru smiled.

.

The minions scampered under the command of their beloved master and his guest, putting together a complex piece of apparatus.

"Where did you come up with the idea for this?" Gru asked and Nefario shrugged.

"Captured technology from the destroyed ship of a being calling himself Galaxar… or something like that." Nefario replied as several large devices were levered into place. "The hard part was re-configuring it to run on electricity rather than Quantonium."

Gru looked at the nearly-complete device, then at the Minions.

"Which Minion do we clone?"

"Why, _all_ of them." Nefario chuckled, then he caught Gru's questioning look. "If we wanted three hundred copies of just one, we'd need that damned blue-glowy stuff, but one copy each of three hundred? _No_ problems!"

"Splendid." Gru gloated. "Splendid.

.

At long last, the machine was complete and the DNA strands from the Minions were inserted.

"At last!" Gru declaimed as his audience cheered and the thunderclouds rumbled up above. "We will increase our army and take over America, and then… THE WORLD!"

The cheering of the Minions was almost solid and Gru turned to where Dr. Nefario was fussing over his control podium.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" Nefario grinned.

"Then, Dr. Nefario, pull the lever!"

To a round of near-frantic cheering, Nefario pulled the main switch and the machine taking up almost three-quarters of the lair rumbled into motion, the first set of cylinders descending and flashing with a brilliant light before lifting to reveal the new Minion clones, each barely the size of Gru's fist.

"Activating the vitamin infusion ray and the temporal enhancer!" Dr Nefario called out and the second device swung into position, the flux capacitor flashing as it began to modify the time-space continuum within its area of effect.

"Yes, yes, YES!" Gru gloated, then the world suddenly turned white.

.

"…what happened?" Gru asked as he opened his eyes to find himself lying in bed, swathed with bandages.

"We forgot to install a lightning rod." Nefario groaned from next to him. "I have no idea what happened when the flux capacitor was overloaded, but we won't be able to rebuild it since the capacitor overloaded."

"Drat." Gru cursed as he slumped back into the comforting embrace of his bed.

.

**A Hundred Million Years Ago…**

Time and space seemed to warp and flex into a pretzel before several hundred yellow forms landed on the beach. As they picked themselves up and looked around for the one that they had imprinted on, their attention was captured by the sight of the ocean.

"Oooooooh…"

Temporarily casting aside their need to find their creator, they scurried into the surf and began splashing each other.

They would _know_ their master when they found him.

No matter how long it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were two shout-outs in the story, Back To The Future and Monsters Vs Aliens.  
> Kudos to those who noticed them without needing this note.


	8. Runner - Worm

_Heroic Journal Entry 3 of Taylor Hebert._

This sucks.

Seriously, I get locked in my own locker, along with a pile of used tampons and other crap, trigger, and what power do I get?

Flight.

For four seconds.

I can fly for four seconds, then the power fades and I fall.

It's official.

The universe hates me.

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 6 of Taylor Hebert._

Okay, maybe it doesn't suck as badly as I thought.

Turns out that as long as I'm touching something fairly rigid and attached to the ground, I can fly for as long as I want.

Nope, still sucks.

"Hey, it's Flies-As-Long-As-She's-Holding-Onto-Something-Girl!"

Yep.

Still sucks.

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 8 of Taylor Hebert._

Parkour.

I saw a video of it, runners leaping over buildings and cars, somersaulting…

I'm going to test something…

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 9 of Taylor Hebert._

Holy Shit!

Okay, my power? Only four seconds of flight? Turns out it recharges _instantly_ whenever I touch the ground or something solid that's fixed to it (so no, cars don't count, I checked).

Gets better. I tested myself on the school running track last night after using my power to vault over the fence (gotta work on my landings, though…) and I can actually move faster than I thought! I fly _as_ I run, all I need to do is move my feet fast enough to tap the ground without catching!

Okay, now to try and work out what the heck to do with it…

Edit – It's a size thing. It recharges on lorries. WTF?

Edit 2 – Ooooookay, I get _eight_ seconds if I'm running over water. How does this even make sense?

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 12 of Taylor Hebert._

Well, looks like my power comes with a couple of perks I hadn't realized. As well as flight, I can impart kinetic energy to other things… provided I'm not in contact with the ground. Weird, I know, but cool. I jump-kicked a mugger out of an alley, sent him almost to the other side of the road!

Shame I couldn't think of anything to say. Maybe I need to work on my repartee.

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 15 of Taylor Hebert._

Hahahahahahaha!

Sophia's face as I lapped her on the track!

The Coach wanted to put me on the team, but I turned him down. It didn't feel right, using my power to cheat my way into people's good graces, but a least I'd pre-scripted a good excuse.

Worried about Sophia trying to pull me into the lesbian relationship that she and… _Her_ have…

*Snerk*

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 18 of Taylor Hebert._

Fuck!

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!

God- _damn_ Sophia!

Fucking _bitch_ knocked me _over_ the railings of the cental staircase… from the _third_ floor!

Thank god for my power, but now everyone thinks I'm a secret _acrobat_!

Okay. I need more information about her. No way she's normal if she's willing to kick someone down a stairwell…

.

_Heroic Journal Entry 19 of Taylor Hebert._

Sophia Hess.

Shadow Stalker.

Just…

…fuck.

.

_Villainous Journal Entry 1 of Taylor Hebert._

Hah!

Now you know what it feels like to be kicked off a roof, Hess! Sure, your powers saved you, as I knew they would, but I hope that bruise stays for weeks!

Note – I'm slightly concerned that I'm enjoying this too much…

.

_Villainous Journal Entry 4 of Taylor Hebert._

Emma, Emma, Emma. Leaving your bedroom window open _and_ a copy of Hess' patrol schedule?

I hope you enjoy the grass snake I slipped into your bed. It won't hurt you, but I remember how freaked you were by them as a kid.

Hess, you're next.

.

_Villainous Journal Entry 5 of Taylor Hebert._

Bwahahahahahahaha!

Oh man. Oh man, oh man. If only I could have seen the look on her face as I hurdled the edge of the roof and splatted her with the whipped cream pie.

One word, Hess. Lenses. You may want to put some in your mask.

Bwahahahahahahaha!

.

_Villainous Journal Entry 8 of Taylor Hebert._

Okay, I may be a criminal, but a gang setting out to kill kids? Not cool.

Thank goodness for my jump-kick skill. I think I got at least five of the Bad Boyz before Armsmaster arrived and tried to arrest me.

I wonder if I can claim partial credit for taking down Lung? True, it was an accident, I didn't mean to KO him with one of his own people, but…

Ah, what the heck.

.

_Villainous Journal Entry 11 of Taylor Hebert._

It seems my take-down of Lung had gained me some admirers.

They call themselves the Undersiders and they want me to join them.

Should I? I'm _undecided_ …

*Snerk*

.

* * *

.

PRT File 845HG67PP1

Codename - Runner

Gender – Unknown

Age – Unknown (Estimated 15 – 21)

Rating – Mover 6

Power description – Ability to run on any surface.

Notes – Runner is a lanky individual with the ability to run on any surface, irrespective of the angle. Runner has been seen sprinting up the sides of buildings, walking along the underside of a bridge and even sprinting across the water between sections of the Boardwalk.

Runner seems to also be able to deliver powerful kicks, but the targets do not show evidence of impact consistent with the impulse they undergo.

Runner came to prominence with a series of attacks on Shadow Stalker. Although the first confirmed one was the Hill Street Pie Incident (See Here for details), the continuing focus Runner shows in targeting Shadow Stalker suggests that the previous incident where Shadow Stalker was kicked off a roof may also be ascribed to Runner.

Runner's affiliations are unknown, but after the Lung Capture (See Here for details), it is confirmed that Runner is not a member of the ABB.

Actions – Runner is to be captured if possible. Normal techniques will not work due to Runner's enhanced mobility, so upon confirmation of Runner's presence, Velocity and Clockblocker are to be dispatched to intercept.

Shadow Stalker is to be investigated to uncover the reason for Runner's continuing harassment of her.

See Also – Hill Street Pie Incident, Paintpot Incident, Wet Towel Incident, Ankle Noose Incident, Water Pistol Incident, Sawn Plank Incident


	9. Guyver Worm

**Archanfel**

_Archanfel lowered his weapon and stared emotionlessly at the ashes that had been the test subject prior to it donning the armour. His cape fluttering in the breeze caused by the superheated air rising to make way for cooler air, he turned back to face his masters, the beings who used the armor that they had tested on one of those he had been created from, beings who had lost an entire command ship and no less than four defense ships to a single, untrained primitive from the native species that they had adjusted to create an army that they could command._

_**This must not be allowed to happen again.** _

_Archanfel didn't respond as the mental communication had not been aimed at him. Instead, he de-powered his weapon before shifting his grip on it, raising it above his head so that it could be reclaimed. As it was lifted out of his hands, Archanfel felt…_ something _, sense of loss… of_ potential _._

_**New weapons will be forged. Ones that cannot use the suits.  
** _ _**What happened today was… not as anticipated.** _

" _Guyver." Archanfel whispered, giving the thought its closest approximation in the limited form known as speech._

_**Prepare the Grand Hammer for deployment and evacuate the planet.  
Leave whatever cannot be taken within the four-day, we must depart.** _

_Archanfel blinked as the Advent floated away towards the distant ships, then he turned and looked at the distant shape of the damaged ship that was sinking into the lava, its self-repair systems already working to seal the hull. Nearby lay the unit that had granted the deceased primitive powers beyond the Advent and Archanfel began moving towards it, then he froze as a bolt of lightning from the clouds forming above lanced down and struck it. For a moment, it glowed like an earthbound sun, then it seemed to vanish as its dimensional storage systems overloaded and Archanfel felt another emotion._

_Anger/Irritation._

_The ground trembled as the first ship of the Advent lifted off and Archanfel watched them leave. Motionless, he waited for the last of his former masters to depart, uncaring that the process took over five days, and only then did he begin to move._

_The ship that had been destroyed had been the one holding all of the records about where the caches of technology had been placed ready for use in building outposts. He had only learned the locations of five of them and several had probably been retrieved, but as long as at least one remained intact, he could use it as the base of his plans._

_If any of the other units had been left in one of the caches, he would find it and would claim the power for himself. He would create weaker versions and use them to build his own army, his chosen ones leading the primitives to the stars, unleashing them against the Advent and seizing all that had once made them great._

_But he could not do it alone._

_He would need assistants. Helpers. Beings that he could empower so that they would be able to oversee events for him._

_A slight movement in the skies above him caught his attention and, gathering his willpower, Archanfel rose into the skies, ascending into orbit with practiced ease even as his eyes searched for what had…_

There _!_

 _A massive meteor, easily large and fast enough to ruin the planet…_ his _planet, should it hit!_

_The odds of such an event occurring briefly crossed his mind, then he realised that it had been dispatched by the Advent, that the beings on the world below him would never become a threat._

_That his plans, embryonic though they still were, would never come to be._

_This could not be allowed._

_Archanfel closed his eyes in concentration, although his senses could still feel the approaching planet-killer from its very mass. Calling upon all his reserves and channeling all the power of his twelve crystals, he unleashed it in a blast of ravening gravitonic fury that lanced out and slammed into the meteorite._

_For almost a full day, Archanfel maintained the blast, slowly ripping the meteorite apart before he finally felt its central neutronium core dissipate. Drained and exhausted, Archanfel let himself descend into the atmosphere once more, realizing that although he had save the origin of his eventual triumph, the cost had been high._

_One of his crystals was cracked and he could feel it sapping his energy._

_For the first time since he had been created, Archanfel knew what it was like to be tired._

.

* * *

**Worm**

It was official, yesterday had sucked.

Sophia had decided to pick up the bullying again. I'd hoped that the damned Locker would have persuaded them to back off a bit for fear of someone in authority actually doing their damned jobs for once, but I was wrong. I managed to overhear her as she gave four boys who were besotted with her some duct tape and instructions to use it to tie me to a pole. Then she spotted me and I ran. Naturally, she gave chase, but one of the boys must have kicked her foot by accident or something, because as I darted round the corner, I caught a glimpse of her falling.

Of course, the boys kept coming after me and I had to run for _ages_ to escape. Finally, I lost them by hiding in one of the odd places that marked where the freelance parahumans known as Faultline's Crew had been operating.

Although I generally don't follow cape news that much, even I knew about Labrynth. One of Faultline's operatives, she could apparently unfold imaginary locations into reality or something like that, and she didn't always fold them back.

And this one looked… rather plain, actually. A copse of cherry trees with a small stream-bed and a wooden bridge over it.

Hearing the sound of distant voices, I ducked into one of the low bushes and paused. Half-embedded in the ground was an odd circular device. The device was an odd blue-green and trilaterally symmetrical which what appeared to be armoured panels over a coil of cables which held a metal sphere in the middle.

Odd.

I reached out carefully and tapped the edge, then the central sphere. Nothing happened, so I took a small breath and reached out to pull it out of the ground. After all, the PRT ran a bounty for tinkerteck that was handed in to it and despite Dad not saying anything, I knew that we were hurting for money.

Taking a strong grip, I pulled hard. The device came loose with surprising suddenness and I toppled out of the bush, the device banging my forehead as I tried to roll to my feet and only succeeded in sprawling. For a moment, I thought that my vision was blurring, then I realized that I had somehow activated the device and the coils inside it were moving.

"Oh shi…"

.

I opened my eyes and looked round in confusion. I was outside my house, but in the back yard.

How?

Was the device a teleporter or something?

Pulling myself to my feet, I fumbled for my keys and let myself inside.

A nice cup of tea seemed just the thing.

.

* * *

.

_Partial transcript of interview with Shadow Stalker (Sophia Hess)  
_ _Interview conducted by Armsmaster (Colin Wallis)  
_ _Witnessed by Battery (-classified-)_

_**A:** _ _Time is now six forty two PM, location is interview room seven. This is Armsmaster acting as primary interviewer._

_**B:** _ _This is Battery acting as witness._

_**SS:** _ _Shadow Stalker. What the hell was that thing, anyway?_

_**A:** _ _We will get to that. You were in the area when the unknown Tinker appeared. Please describe him for the record, along with any other observations that you made._

_**SS:** _ _Seriously? You got pictures of the damn Tinker and you want me to…_

_**B:** _ _(Interrupting) It's protocol, I have to do similar things._

_**SS:** _ _Right. Fuck. Alright. Ummmm, armor. Never seen anything like it before, not metal. Looked kinda like an insect. Odd eyes and weird circles in the gaps of the helmet, they seemed to move like eyes or something. Freaky. Ummmm, the mouth had two silver orbs, one above the other, blades on its arms and one on its helmet… cannons in its chest._

_**A:** _ _For the record, please explain how you know about the cannons._

_**SS:** _ _'cause I saw fucking HOOKWOLF try to attack it! Bug-armor guy just backhanded him into a tree, then pulled open half his chest and fired a goddamn ray of death at the fucking nazi!_

_**B:** _ _Stalker, calm down…_

_**A:** _ _For the record, the unknown Tinker managed to kill Hookwolf. DNA tests on the few portions of him left after the attack prove that it was him._

_**SS:** _ _Yeah, fucker was just vaporized. The blades left over, damn things were glowing. I think a few even melted. I almost felt sorry for that Nazi._

_**A:** _ _Then what happened?_

_**SS:** _ _You showed up, tried to talk to him and he just flew off. I couldn't do anything and I wasn't even in my uniform, so I left and came straight here._

_**A:** _ _For the record, that was the correct decision given the circumstances._

_**SS:** _ _…gee, thanks._

.

* * *

.

I still had no idea of what had happened to that disc, but in retrospect, it was probably something made by L33T.

That was a scary thought. I'd heard tales of how L33T-tech kept exploding.

It had affected me, though. I was faster and stronger. Not all that much, but I could jump half-again as far (and high) and my arms were more than strong enough to let me pull myself up walls without getting tired.

It really was a boon for my patrolling. Coupled with my bugs (and somehow, I was actually _seeing_ through their eyes… L33T's tech seemed to have boosted my range to almost four blocks), I could find trouble and get to it quickly.

It wasn't until I encountered Lung that I discovered what else it had done.

.

"…and if any of them go down, double-tap them to be sure. I want those kids dead!"

I hadn't caught most of Lung's speech, so I didn't know who he was referring to, but the important thing was that he had just declared he wanted to kill some children.

That wasn't right!

I knelt behind a chimney and concentrated. Every single bug in range started to gather, the flying ones swooping down to carry the ground-bound bugs. Wasps, flies, butterflies, spiders, roaches and many others all obeyed my call and within a moment, a swarm was coalescing above Lung and his minions.

The sheer mass of insects was enough to be audible because Lung looked up and peering round the chimney-stack, I saw him tense up.

"There's a Master nearby!" he roared, flexing his muscles. "Find him and bring him to me!"

I ducked back behind the chimney and unleashed my swarm on the ABB, spiders weaving thread to pin them as hornets stung and my other bugs covered them in a living carpet. The Black Widows I reserved for Lung. As a regenerator, I needed to take him down _fast_ or…

Oh hell.

I _felt_ the bugs swarming him blotted out in a wave of intolerable heat, then more of them died as he moved towards me.

How the hell did he know where I was? Had he spotted me ducking into cover?

A crunching noise snapped me back to reality and I threw myself into a roll as a huge fist shattered the stack I was sheltering behind. As the broken bricks landed behind me, I flipped myself to my feet and spun round…

…just in time to be slammed into the parapet as a large hand partially covers in scales closed around my neck and Lung's head loomed above me, his face warped enough that his metal dragon mask was now dangling over one ear, held by a single strap that was fraying even as I looked at it.

"''ooo ell eye!"

I tried to swallow, but Lung's hand, growing hotter by the second, prevented it.

They say that when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes.

They're wrong.

It was just a word. One I'd never heard before, one that almost forced its way out of my throat.

"GUYVER!"

Lung's eyes widened an instant before a sphere of energy formed around me, knocking him backwards. Cables wrapped around my body and pulled armor plates out of thin air. My strength increased and my vision sharpened to the point that I could see every tiny pore on the portions of him not covered in scales.

Lung roared as the energy dissipated and dropped me back onto my feet. The feeling of energy snapping through me was indescribable and as I dropped into a basic defence stance, I could feel the blades on my arms start to vibrate, making a humming noise.

"You have a chest blaster!" A female voice shouted, causing both Lung and myself to half-turn to see a trio of quadrupedal monsters with four riders. The lone rider of the lead beast raised her hands to her mouth and shouted again.

"You just need to pull open your chest-plate and focus!" She yelled. "You've done it before! When you took out Hookwolf at the park!"

I blinked.

I had?

I mean, everyone was discussing the insect-themed tinker who had used his power armor to…

…armor…

…armor just like I was wearing…

… _my_ armor!

Reaching up, I found my fingers slipping smoothly into the space between my chestplates. Pulling gently, I felt it swing open and the energy flowing through me started to pool over my heart before lancing out and hitting Lung.

...holy crap!

As his smoking remains landed on the ground below, the girl called out again.

"Nice one, thanks for the assist! let's go!"

I glanced at their disappearing forms, then back down at the injured Lung, just as a motorbike pulled up beside him and the armored rider dismounted.

Armsmaster!

I wanted to stay, but I didn't know how long my power boost would last, so I turned and ran, launching myself off the roof and…

…wow!

I can fly!

"Wahoooooo!"

.

* * *

.

" _In the news today, the ABB suffered a severe setback with the capture of the parahuman criminal Lung. The man who once faced off against Leviathon and who faced down the Triumvirate in single combat was rushed to hospital with extreme injuries. Only the intervention of the healing cape Panacea saved his life.  
_ " _Although Armsmaster was the one who brought in Lung, the cape who defeated the Dragon of Brockton Bay was the same Cape who killed the criminal known as Hookwolf.  
_ " _A cape about whom almost nothing is known except for his name.  
_ " _Guyver."_


	10. The Last Legionary In Brockton Bay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is a crossover between Douglas Hill's The Last Legionary series and Wildbow's Worm.

Keill Randor was jolted into wakefulness as his starship bucked, hurling him out of his bunk. His reflexes let him twist enough to land on his feet even before his mind finished the process of recovering from the artificial hibernation that his telepathic alien companion Glr had placed him in for the journey to her home universe. Without wasting any time wondering what was going on, Keill raced to the cockpit and hurled himself into the pilots chair even as Glr finished stabilizing the ship.

"Glr, what happened?"

 _I… I_ think _I know._ The winged alien replied from her hammock-perch, her mind-voice somehow sounding far more worried that Keill had ever heard before from her. _It's an old tale from my home-world, of giant parasites that swim through multiple realities and feast off the destruction of planets… I think our OverLight field just clipped one of them._

Keill nodded even as his fingers flickered over the levers and switches of the starship's extremely sensitive detection array. Although the controls themselves were virtually identical to the ones he had been trained on back when his home-world of Moros was still capable of supporting life, the systems that fed into the control panel were several generations beyond even the best available to anyone who was not allied to the now-defunct group known as the Overseers, scientists who had seen the rise of the One and it's empire and searched for a way to stop it.

A way known as Keill Randor, the Last Legionary.

Now, the sensors sampled portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, gravetic gradients and etheric phenomena so advanced that even Glr, several centuries old and from a race so advanced that humanity looked like fur-wearing primitives by comparison, couldn't describe it except through mathematical terms so complex that Keill got a headache within seconds of her beginning.

And what the sensors showed was almost unbelievable.

"Is that… Earth?" Keill asked in disbelief.

 _It is._ Glr confirmed in just as much shock. _And Keill, we've gone back in time… and_ sideways _. We're no longer in our own universe._

Keill nodded, then his gaze darted to a screen that had just flashed.

"What's that?"

 _Something I have never seen before._ Glr replied. _I think we need to check it out. It may let us return to when… and_ where _we should be._

.

.

" **She's got enough raw firepower to kill us even if she misses," Grue shook his head, "We don't have many options. We go over this wall again, we won't just have to deal with the thugs and the old man. We go down either end of this alley, we're walking face first into a bomb. So we have to backtrack. No choice."**

**I wished there was another option. Backtracking meant moving back toward the center of the facility, it meant prolonging our escape, and possibly running headlong into ABB troops.**

**We headed for the gap that Bakuda's latest explosion had created in the lockers, and Grue filled the alley we were leaving with darkness, to help cover our escape. The little road was empty, except for the still figures at either end.**

**As we started to climb over the next row of lockers, we felt rather than heard a series of explosions rip through the area behind us. Bakuda was bombarding the cloud of darkness with a series of explosives. I guess you didn't need to see if you could hit that hard.**

**We climbed down from the lockers and found ourselves in the same place we'd been when we escaped the mob. There were three still figures at one end of the alley, doubtlessly a concealed bomb, and the destruction caused by the explosions and the miniature black hole in a can on the other. If we climbed over the locker, we faced the risk of throwing ourselves straight into the mob we'd fled. We'd have the element of surprise, but we'd be outnumbered, and our firepower was virtually nil.**

**By unspoken agreement, we headed towards the end of the alley where the hologram-bomb had gone off, where plumes of dust were still settling.**

**We were greeted by the sound of guns being cocked.**

**My heart sank. Twenty or so members of the ABB had guns of various sorts trained on us. Kneeling, sitting and crouching in front of the two groups, so they were out of the way of the guns and out of sight, were thirty or so other people Bakuda had 'recruited'. There was a businessman and a woman that could have been his wife, a girl wearing the Immaculata school uniform, from the Christian private school in the south end of the city, about my age. There were two older men, three older women with graying hair, and a group of guys and girls that might have been University students were standing together. Everyday people.**

**They weren't gang members, but I could think of them as her soldiers; Every one of them held a weapon of some sort. There were kitchen knives, baseball bats, pipes, shovels, two-by-fours, chains, crowbars and one guy even had a sword that was, oddly enough, not Japanese. There was a look of grim resignation on their faces, circles under their eyes that spoke of exhaustion, as they watched us.**

**Behind their assembled group, standing astride the Jeep, one foot resting on her modified jeep-mounted mortar launcher, an altered grenade launcher danging from one strap around her shoulders, was Bakuda. All around her were boxes of her specialized grenades and mortar rounds, bolted onto the back of the Jeep, blinking with various colored LEDs.**

**She put her hands on her grenade launcher as she tilted her head to one side. Her robotic voice crackled through the still air.**

" **Checkmate."**

"I don't think so!" A new voice stated as a small red rectangle about the side of a credit card sliced through the air and bounced underneath the jeep that Bakuda was perched on. An instant later, the Jeep was hurled into the air by an explosion, Bakuda flying off it, her limbs flailing and her bazooka arcing away.

The man who had saved us leapt down from the top of the wall he had been perched on, landing in a roll which turned into a spinning kick that sent three of the ABB members onto the ground, his hands flickering in a move that sent another four staggering backwards.

However, it was Bakuda that I was staring at as she screamed and tried to retrieve her gas mask from the giant bat-like creature that had her mask in its claws and was hovering just above her, out of reach. A moment later, Bakuda collapsed.

What the heck?

 _The one you seek is over there._ A not-voice echoed in my mind and I blinked as the knowledge of exactly where Bitch was unfolded in my mind. Behind me, Tattletale swore with feeling, but Grue was already on his way to retrieve her.

"So," the hunk in the blue jumpsuit said as he straightened up after knocking out the last of the ABB members. "Glr says that Bakuda has a deadman's switch on her linked to bombs she's implanted in these people's heads, so who do I hand her over to?"

I simply stared at him in shock.

Who was he?

 _Keill Randor._ the not-voice supplied, laughter burbling in it. _You know, for a mudwalker, you're amazingly easy to talk to. I think I'll keep you._

Keill sighed. "Glr, we're _not_ taking her home with us."

_Awwwwwwww._


	11. Scales Of Injustice - Worm

"So. Why have you not encouraged more to join?" Kenta rumbled threateningly, his already nerve-wracking presence magnified by the presence of his primary assassin, Oni Lee.

"Sir, it's tricky." Ahito tried to excuse himself. "Most of those who _want_ to join already have and… sir?"

Lung staggered, catching himself against the nearby wall and his head snapped round as Oni Lee pulled himself back up to his knees.

"A new Cape has appeared." He stated. "Find that cape. Now!"

Ahito sprinted into the school and Lung frowned.

"To have powers shaped by both yours and mine, Oni Lee… this Cape will be powerful. He will join us. I decree it!"

.

Emma frowned as her savior and role-model suddenly staggered, dropping to one knee.

"Sophia? What happened?"

Sophia used Emma's shoulder to pull herself back up to her feet, swearing.

"Sophia?"

"Come on!" Sophia growled, pulling Emma back to where they had shoved Emma's former friend into her waste-filled locker. "If I'm right, and I hope I'm not…"

Sophia slammed to a halt as they rounded the corner and Emma almost plowed into her as the shorter girl stared in horror at the straining locker door.

"What's happening?" Madison asked from behind them even as Sophia fumbled in her pocket for a phone. Before them, the door continued to bulge outwards, then it ripped itself out of its frame and a shape apparently formed from smokey-silver scales poured out of the locker, the thing obviously far bigger than the locker could have contained.

"Sophia?" Emma asked for the third time, terror evident in her voice despite her best efforts and ahead of them, a glowing golden eye opened, its slit pupil narrowing as its gaze transfixed them.

"She's a Cape!" Sophia shouted, causing the nearby pupils to stare at her rather than the uncoiling beast. "Hebert's Triggered!"

Emma stumbled backwards as Hebert continued to unfold herself, one claw-tipped foot crashing through a reinforced-concrete wall as if it had been nothing more than paper. Madison screamed and ran off, her action galvanizing Sophia into hitting an app on her screen, then pushing past Emma as she also fled.

"Wait for me!" Emma screamed as she turned and ran from the person she had betrayed almost two years prior.

Sophia cursed as she ran for the stairs. If she could get to the janitor's room fast enough, she could retrieve her spare costume _and_ the hunting bolts that she had stored in the small space behind the wall. If she could get a good shot off,she could take down Hebert _before_ the bitch used her newfound power to strike out at her. After all, that's what happened when the helpless got power, they lashed out at everyone who had kept them in their place to begin with.

As Sophia ducked into the office, her phone rang.

"Yes?" She snapped as she flung open the cleaning supplies cupboard.

" _You sounded the alert. What's happening?"_ Clockblocker's voice said, his normal (and extremely annoying) levity replaced by pure professionalism.

"Unknown Cape, destroying Winslow." Sophia half-lied as the sound of falling masonry and distant screams reached her. "I'm arming up, but I'll need backup, and lots of it. This new Cape's a frigging monster!"

" _Understood. Velocity is vectoring in now and Armsmaster is three minutes out."_

Another crash echoed and Sophia paused before _reaching_ through the base of the cupboard to pull out her uniform.

"There might not be a school left by then." She said before de-activating her phone. "Not that it'll be a disaster or anything. Fucking gangs are all over this shit-hole."

.

_I felt myself getting compressed as the locker tightened around me, then suddenly there was the sound of something tearing and I was free! The sudden light almost blinded me and I reflexively closed my eyes as I landed on the ground, my body absorbing the impact and coiling…_

… _wait._

… _what?_

_I concentrated on myself and for a long moment, I couldn't believe what I was feeling. My body had lengthened and become incredibly flexible, I could feel it pressing on itself as I slowly uncoiled. My limbs felt different, their joints had changed but at least I had the right number of fingers. the presence of two more limbs was a shock and from how one of them felt, trapped under me, I guessed it was a wing._

_Was I a… a_ dragon _?_

 _Shifting again to try and free my wing (and_ that _was a sentence I hadn't even considered using before now), I opened one eye to see if anyone had seen my…_

_Oh crap._

_The Trio._

_For what seemed like an eternity, all I could do was stare at them, then the discomfort of my position made itself felt once more. Reaching out, I tried to brace my hand against the wall so that I could…_

… _wow._

 _The builders of Winslow_ really _skimped on quality control, didn't they?_

_Tearing my gaze away from the hole I had just made, I turned back to face my torme…_

_Where'd they go?_

_._

Velocity halted at the gates of Winslow, staring at the sight of a draconic tail slicing through the upper story of Winslow, causing that part of the wall to fall outwards.

"Control, this is Velocity… we're going to need backup." He stated with the type of calm that only occurs when it's obvious that everything is about to go to hell. "Where's Armsmaster?"

The answer, if it came, was drowned out by a weird, undulating roar which in turn was the signal for the alarms to start ringing. Velocity dashed to one side as the panicked students flooded out of the building, then he saw a familiar figure vanish.

"Shit!" He cursed, keying his comm again. "Oni Lee confirmed on site! This might be the initiation of a new ABB cape!"

" _Understood, Velocity. Miss Militia is on her way, ETA five minutes. Armsmaster should be on site in two minutes. Assault and Battery will be heading out via copter in a few minutes."_

"Moving in now. Any other assets on the scene?"

" _Shadow Stalker has just indicated that she is costumed up and moving in."_

Velocity nodded. "Then I'm moving in to aid with evacuation."

.

_I twisted and finally managed to get my tail out from underneath me, only for the ceiling to land on me. What the heck was with this? I knew Winslow was bad, the events of the last two years had proven that beyond doubt, but for it to be falling apart like this?_

_A shrug of my shoulders and flexing of my wings pushed the debris off my back and I sighed in relief as sunlight finally started to warm my flex and I was finally able to stretch to full length as something bounced off my scales…_

_What?_

_Looking round, I caught a glimpse of movement and then another fast-moving thing bounced off my chest._

_Was that… Shadow Stalker?_

_Why was a Hero attacking me?_

.

Shadow Stalker ducked back into cover as her second bolt simply bounced off the scales of the monster that had once been the useless Taylor Hebert. Although she would under other circumstances be happy to admire the lethally-sharp claws and sparkling fangs of her adversary, the fact that it was the one who should rightfully be happy to lick her boots clean simply added more fuel to her rage. Slamming another bolt into her crossbow (and wishing that she had had the foresight to stash an auto-cocking one at Winslow rather than her old windlass one), she frantically cranked the handle, trying to ignore the growling snarl emitting from her target.

With the bolt finally in place and the string taut, Shadow Stalker activated her power, darting out of concealment to loose the bolt so that it would reform inside Taylor, hopefully forcing her to revert back to…

… _FUCK!_

How the _hell_ had the bitch _done_ that?

.

 _The realization that Shadow Stalker was trying to actually_ kill _me came with her third bolt, this one in shadow form. As it slipped through my scales, I could_ feel _its passage and that it was about to solidify inside me, then a reflex I didn't know I had activated and the world turned grey for an instant, all color vanishing. The bolt skittered off the wall behind me as color returned._

_What the heck?_

_Had I just used Shadow Stalker's power?_

_What else could I do?_

.

"Fucker just countered me!" Shadow Stalker all but screamed into her microphone. "My bolts have no effect on it! No fucking effect!"

" _Copy that, Shadow Stalker. Drop back into support and let Velocity take lead."_

Shadow Stalker blinked behind her mask, then suddenly a clangor of metallic impacts sounded as Velocity blurred past her and attacked.

.

Grabbing a pipe that had been knocked out of the collapsing wall, Velocity _accelerated_ and ran up the almost-deserted stairs, easily dodging the few remaining students trying to make their way out of the building. Rounding the corner behind which Shadow Stalker had taken refuge behind, Velocity took in the size of the corridor-filling dragon that he was facing, a dragon that was showing a _lot_ of pointed teeth and sharp claws. Shifting his grip, he darted forwards and swung at the dragon's lower jaw, reducing his elapsed-time rate for a greater ability to deliver a solid hit. The steel pipe in his hands rang as he slammed it into the dragon's head, the impact almost causing him to drop it, but he persevered and delivered another dozen strikes before retreating.

"Fuck me." He whispered. "It didn't even daze it!"

.

_I blinked as for an instant, bells started to ring around me. The impacts were barely noticeable and I looked round to see what was going on, then I spotted the one who had caused it._

_Velocity._

_Another Hero? What the fuck?_

_Was I going to end up fighting the entire Protectorate?_

_I needed to get out of there. Through the massive hole in the wall that I had created, I could see the Medhall Building and I thought longingly about hiding on it's roof until…_

_I blinked and looked round in shock._

_I was on Medhall's roof!_

_What. The. Hell?_

.

Sophia's jaw dropped as Hebert simply vanished with a sound similar to a quiet explosion. Her absence was reinforced by the sound of Armsmaster's bike pulling in through the gate outside.

"This isn't going to look good on our report." Velocity noted and Sophia bit down the urge to make a sarcastic reply.

"Console, be aware that the enemy Cape has disappeared, I repeat disappeared." Velocity stated, one hand cupped over his ear to indicate that he was using his comm. "High probability of teleportation."

Sophia scowled at the empty space where her target had been.

First it was that bastard Grue with his power that slowed her down and weakened her, now Hebert could do even worse.

The Bitch had just joined Grue on her _needs-to-be-killed_ list.

Now, how to report it so that Hebert's status as a villain would be beyond doubt?

And how to keep Hebert down? Direct attacks were out of the question, but…  
…wait.

Sophia smirked with triumph. She _knew_ she'd hidden that gang-member's gun for a reason and now it was time.

She knew Hebert's address from Emma.

It would only take a single bullet…

And maybe a match or candle…

And after that, she could see about destroying the little that remained of Hebert's reputation.

.

* * *

.

PRT Internal Threat Assessment Report - Security Level 2 access required

 **Protectorate ENE - Brockton Bay, New Hampshire  
Reporting Officer –** Velocity

 **Codename:** Yazi

 **Designation:** Independent Villain

 **Identity:** Taylor Hebert (Orphan) (Publicly known)

 **Appearance:** Yazi resembles a smokey-silver-colored winged chinese dragon over ten meters long (estimated, from nose to tail-tip) with five talons on each foot. Her eyes are golden in color with slit pupils.

 **Brute 7:** Yazi was able to destroy reinforced concrete walls with ease and didn't bother to react to Velocity attacking her with a steel pipe.  
 **Shaker 3+/-?:** Yazi is reported to be able to turn into a "ghost dragon" via intangibility. This is a solid counter to Shadow Stalker's power and as such, SS should not be deployed against Yazi if possible.  
 **Mover 6+/-?:** Yazi disengaged from combat via teleportation. It is unknown what her range is at this time.  
 **Changer 5+/-?:** Yazi's combat form may or may not be her default form.

 **Profile:** According to records obtained from Winslow High School and which have been confirmed by Shadow Stalker (who attended the same school as her), Taylor Hebert was known to be an antisocial loner with a persecution complex who made multiple false allegations in an ongoing attempt to get attention. She occasionally resorted to self-inflicted injuries to seek sympathy, but such events were rare due to her low pain threshold.

Taylor Hebert's grades at Winslow were significantly below average, putting her in the lower twentieth of the school. Earlier records indicate that she was either specially tutored or highly intelligent at the time of joining Winslow, but the steady decline in her grades indicates that the former is the most likely.

At this time, a Thinker rating is seen as non-applicable.

Taylor Hebert's mother, Anette Hebert was a former follower of Lustrum who died several years ago in a car crash. Although apparently an accident, Taylor's Triggering indicates that Annette may have been one of Lustrum's Capes prior to the organisation disbanding. Potential identities are Castrator, Woman's Fist, Mother's Wrath or DoubleX.

Taylor Hebert's father, Danny Hebert (see also Dockworkers Union) was killed by an unknown person the night his daughter Triggered, killed by a single bullet to the head and the house subsequently set on fire in an attempt to hide the evidence. Until further notice, Taylor Hebert is to be assumed to be the perpetrator. Evidence provided by civilian Emma Barnes (friend of Sophia Hess and one-time friend of Taylor Hebert) indicates the possibility of sexual abuse.

 **Notes:** At this time, a Kill Order is not authorized, but should Yazi try to resist capture by means of violence, lethal force has been authorized.

.

* * *

.

Thomas Calvert read the data appreciatively. Although a twenty-meter-long dragon would be hard to hide, she would be quite a force-multiplier for his cats-paw team, even if she didn't have any other powers than that which she had shown. And with her being both an orphan and a wanted criminal, there wouldn't be anywhere she could really hide without being discovered and forced to flee.

Coil leaned back and steepled his fingers in thought, then he pulled his mask on and picked up the phone, scrolling through to a specific number.

"Ah, Sarah." He said as soon as the phone on the other end was picked up. "I have a mission for you. See what you can discover about this new cape, Yazi, and try to come up with a way to get her onto your team…"

"Why yes, I think that her demonstrated abilities will mesh _wonderfully_ with your team's."

.

Max Anders gazed thoughtfully at the pictures on his desk. several of them showed a black-haired teenage girl, half-hunched against the blows that the world kept landing on her, every part of her body language screaming depressed defiance and a belief that things would never improve.

The final couple of pictures, taken by those who were seeking to join the ranks of the glorious E88, showed her new form, that of a silvery dragon effortlessly destroying the building she was in.

"While her form is unfortunate in its connotations, her power more than makes up for it." Kaiser finally decided.

"According to a statement released by the PRT, this Taylor Hebert is a villain." Victor noted from his desk in the corner. "Her mother's been linked to Lustrum and was probably a Cape too."

"A Second Generation Cape." Max mused. "And with such a power set. Even if she could only teleport one person with her at a time, it would totally change the course of battle and if her powers are even more… we must find her. Find her and recruit her. Maybe through her family?"

"She's an orphan." Victor supplied, still scrolling through the data on his computer. "Her father died the day she triggered, but that wasn't the reason. He died _after_. Bullet in the head and then the house set on fire."

"Find out who did it." Kaiser snapped. "I don't care _who_ it was, just find out. If we can offer her revenge…"

Victor nodded in understanding.

"It shall be as you will."

.

Lung looked at the pictures that one of his lieutenants had placed on the desk in front of him.

"She was not asian." He noted, picking up the first picture, then igniting it with a flexing of his power. "It matters not. Her true form is all that matters. She is a dragon, she is now asian!"

"Her father was recently killed, Lung-Dono." The Lieutenant reported. "She is an orphan… my people are still searching for clues as to who killed him."

Lung nodded. "Good! We can bring her to our side by offering her vengeance. I approve! But her name… is there any evidence that she has indeed learned how to kill?"

"Aside from her father's death, which we do not believe to be due to her actions, no."

"Then why name her after a dragon which brings death?" Lung muttered. "Go. I wish to know more."

"As you command, Lung-Dono."

.

"You asked for a meeting, Director?"

Emily Piggot nodded and waved for her guests to be seated. In preparation for this meeting, extra chairs had been brought in and she watched as the people she had summoned sat down.

"I assume that you are aware of the newest Cape in Brockton Bay?" She asked and Lady Photon nodded.

"We are."

"Then you know that as the PRT have only a few fliers. Dauntless is our only PRT flier in Brockton Bay and while Aegis and Kid Win are both flight-capable, I would much prefer for them to avoid being anywhere near Yazi at this time, especially since Aegis lacks the power to take her down while Kid Win's reliance on technology would be incredibly easy for her to counter."

Several of the New Wave members nodded in understanding.

"Since she has wings, we are assuming that Yazi _can_ fly, so we need fliers who also pack a strong attack." Piggot continued. "Unfortunately, the strongest flying blaster in Brockton Bay happens to be on the wrong side."

"Purity." Brandish growled and Emily nodded.

"Correct. Lady Photon, the PRT are interested in temporarily deputizing you, Laserdream and Glory Girl to back up Dauntless as the aerial component of the task force we are going to assemble to take down Yazi. We will be happy to provide you with secure communicators for the entire team but we will expect your three to join Dauntless for training at least once every three days."

"But we already _know_ how to use our powers!" Victoria Dallon burst out ad Emily hid a sigh.

"Individually, yes. But what about together? Do you practice moving in formation? Have you a set pattern for Laserdream to fire her beams in so that you can approach your target under their protection? Do you know the difference between a breakout and a diversion?"

As each question was fired at her, Victoria wilted and Lady Photon nodded.

"Your points are well taken, Director. Very well… we accept. You have your air support."

.

_The sunlight lanced in through the open hatch of the ship that I had turned into my lair, bouncing off the inside of the hull, warming me despite the dampness of the air and filling me with energy._

_As the sun illuminated the clouds in shades of red, my mind flashed back to the sight of my home burning, a black shadow flitting away from It as the flames finished engulfing the structure and the smoke rising to form a pillar which, when I flew through it, held the faint scent of burning flesh._

_With the last of my family dead, I flew away, seeking a place where I could mourn, a place I found on the furthest ship in the Boat's Graveyard, a ship grounded on a rocky shoal and which remained fairly untouched as none could reach it on foot._

_Ripping out most of the inner partitions had taken several days, especially since I had to do it quietly, but the result was a space where I could stretch out or curl up as the urge took me and using one of the bits of metal as an impromptu mirror, I could see the Medhall building, allowing me to_ jump _to it and with my enhanced vision allowing me to see the mirror from there, I could_ jump _back into the hold with no sign of my passage._

_Now that I had a safe place for myself, I could move on and find out just who had killed my father._

_And when I located that person, they would learn why one should not anger a dragon…_

_Of course, things would be easier if I could actually_ speak _!_

_I wonder what they're saying on PHO right now?_

.

* * *

.

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Topic: A Wild Dragon Appears!  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

TheGrinningWriter (Original Poster)

So, we have another Cape in Brockton Bay and it started out by demolishing Winslow High School! Not that I can blame it, the place really is the classic hive of scum, villainy and gang recruitment.

The actual damage to the school is surprisingly low (little more than a corridor and a classroom or two) but as for _what_ caused it…

**[Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]**

Yep, that's a Dragon!

Word on the street is that the identity of the new dragon is publicly known. Hell, I know it, but out of respect for the Board's rules, I'm not going to post it and neither should you. So, the new cape destroyed part of the school, apparently fought off Velocity and Shadow Stalker and then vanished.

How the hell does a fifty-meter dragon just vanish?

Comments please!

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(Viewing page 1 of 215)

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► XxVoid_CowboyxX

[Post deleted]

**[Until the cape in question is officially named, the assumption is that they are** _**not** _ **to be named. Have a seven-day ban to think about your actions and just remember you are crunchy and might taste good with ketchup! – TinMother]**

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► ImpossibleGolfer

XxVoid_CowboyxX – Dammit, Void! The OP _said_ not to name the Cape!

Edit – Wow, Strangered by TinMother already! Nice one TM!

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► Bagrat (The Guy In The Know)

I was just in the middle of starting a similar thread when TGR posted this one. It isn't often that I'm beaten to the punch.

What I know is speculative as heck, but my contacts in the PRT say that there'll be a statement tomorrow at noon.

in the meantime, the new Cape has been given the Codename Yazi. For those who are interested, a Yazi is a type of Dragon that loves to kill, so you can see how dangerous they think she is.

Current classification is villain with a note that non-capes should steer clear of her. Preliminary ratings are something like Brute 6, Changer 5, Shaker 4, Mover 7 (unconfirmed at this time). If true, that's one hell of a grab-bag. Mover 7 for instance means more than simply flight.

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► TheGrinningWriter (Original Poster)

Bagrat – Thanks, dude. You got more than I had. Brute 6, huh? Given the damage she caused, I can see that.

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► AllSeeingEye

If she's that powerful, the gangs will be fighting for the right to count her as one of their own. Whichever one gets her will get one heck of a boost.

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► WalksInTheShadows (Verified PRT Agent)

Thanks. Just when I thought the Bay couldn't get any scarier…

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► TheOnlySainMan

It's a sign! Three Dragons now walk the Earth! When the fourth one comes, it'll mark the Apocalypse!

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► WalksInTheShadows (Verified PRT Agent)

…wot

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► PartiesLikeTheresNoTomorrow

Ignore him. So. Flying Dragon That Kills. As if Fiery Rage Dragon wasn't bad enough.

I'm seriously considering moving.

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► InnocentCriminal

Judging from those pictures, I don't think that she's fifty meters. From the spacing of the windows on the floor below and where you can see her head and tail, I'd say somewhere between 15 and 25 meters depending on how she's standing…

...and this was not a sentence I ever expected to type.

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**(Viewing page 42 of 215)**

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►MartiansAreAwesome

Look, we've been arguing in circles and until more information is released, we aren't going to get any further.

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► Bagrat (The Guy In The Know)

Ask and you shall receive! Here is a [Link] to the PRT statement but briefly, Yazi is Taylor Hebert, both parents deceased and a second-gen cape whose mother worked for Lustrum.

Oh, and the ratings are currently Brute 7, Shaker 3, Mover 6, Changer 5.

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► Aegis (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Okay, us wards have been released to post on this thread now that we don't have to keep quiet. Most of the info is in the release, so let's not rehash it. However, you may be interested to know that New Wave has received PRT-approved comms in light of the threat that Yazi presents. Good thing too, I don't want to face her without some serious backup.

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► GloryGirl (Verified Cape)

What Aegis hasn't mentioned is that Aunt Sarah, Crystal and myself are part of a team being trained to take that flying lizard down. With Dauntless, Aegis and Kid Win, we'll be able to smack her right back to where she belongs!

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► AllSeeingEye

Okay, I've gone back through the thread and just why is Yazi a criminal? Far as I can tell, all she's done is less damage than Gloryhole in one of her rampages, defended herself against a pair of so-called Heroes attacking her without attempting communication and become an orphan. What part of that necessitates the smack-down?

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► TheGrinningWriter (Original Poster)

Re-check the fourth picture. See the guy in the corner?

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► ImpossibleGolfer

Holy $%^&! That's Oni Lee! What the fuck is _he_ doing at Winslow?

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► WritesAndPaints

Perhaps he's a substitute teacher there? According to my cousin, several of them are total douchebags, especially the ones who try to be popular.

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► WalksInTheShadows (Verified PRT Agent)

Our original assumption was that it was part of her initiation into the ABB. However, our sources have told us that Yazi isn't currently a member. Nevertheless, the presence of Oni Lee is highly suspicious and cannot be ignored.

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► AllSeeingEye

Any idea if Lung was there too? I expect that he was since it's a well-known phenomenon that when a Cape Triggers, their powers can be shaped somewhat by nearby Capes. Let's see, dragon form from Lung, teleportation from Oni Lee and intangibility… Shadow Stalker perhaps? Her powers may be _because_ those Capes were there, in which case, what was Shadow Stalker doing meeting with Lung?

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**(Viewing page 215 of 215)**

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► Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

HighlyStrung – No, I don't have any idea either. However, it doesn't change the fact that Yazi tried to attack us last Saturday. I have never been more terrified in my life and I've faced Hookwolf! Thank god for New Wave!

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► GloryGirl (Verified Cape)

Vista – You're welcome. Although it did seem that Yazi was targeting Shadow Stalker. Any clue as to why? Other than her charming personality, that is?

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* * *

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* * *

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Emily Piggot stared in bemused horror at the pile of reports in front of her, then she looked up to where Miss Militia was stood over the twitching form of Shadow Stalker.

"Okay." She sighed after a long moment. "Just why did you see fit to break into my office mid-debriefing and tase her? Not that I have any doubt her personality alone would be reason enough, but…"

"Triumph's cousin triggered recently." Miss Militia stated, earning a raised eyebrow. "She somehow found Yazi…"

"How bad's the damage?" Piggot sighed, only to pause as Miss Militia shook her head.

"It's worse than that. About Yazi… we were wrong. We were _all_ wrong…"

.

 _Dinah Alcott climbed up the anchor chain, the small dinghy she had_ borrowed _tied to the lowest link. Soon, she was at the gap where the chain fed out and she squirmed through, noting that had she been any larger, she wouldn't have been able to fit._

_Pulling herself to her feet, she made her way to the central hatch and looked down, seeing a pair of reptilian eyes looking up at her._

" _Hello, Taylor." She said calmly. "I need your help. I ran the numbers and you're the only one who can save me…"_

.

"Her name's Dinah Alcott, she's a precog who gives answers in percentages." Miss Militia stated. "She managed, somehow, to find Yazi and from there, Quinn Calle. They got Yazi's statement of what happened to cause her to Trigger… and _who_ …"

Piggot followed Miss Militia's glare to the Ward lying, moaning, on the carpet.

.

_The well-groomed man took a picture of the words that Taylor had written in the sand, then looked up at the former teenage girl._

" _Although outing Capes is normally seen as a violation of the Unwritten Rules, I can see several ways round that." He said thoughtfully. "I will ask you_ not _to try to attack Sophia Hess again, even though you saw her departing from the scene of your father's murder."_

_Taylor nodded slowly, then growled inquisitively and Calle gave a thin smile._

" _She's already got a body count. The PRT forced her to join as they thought she could be useful, but win a case like this? They'll jettison her faster than you can say_ bad publicity _. Now, I know someone who can get those e-mails for us, but I'll need your login for that."_

_Taylor nodded again, already starting to engrave words with one of her talons while Dinah looked on with satisfaction._

.

"Fortunately for us, Calle's chosen not to go public immediately." Hannah continued. "However, I've had to call Glenn Chambers in. The potential PR disaster is… well, Glenn turned _white_ when he read the messages."

Emily felt as if her eyes were about to fall out of her head, her eyes were so wide. Glenn Chambers was unflappable under both normal circumstances and everything short of actually being in an Endbringer attack (which had only happened once and he had recovered within an hour of being taken to safety). Anything that made _him_ blanch was to be feared indeed.

"What the fuck was…" Sophia slurred from the floor, only to spasm as Hannah used her taser again.

"So… _how_?"

"Bullying for over a year, closer to two. Her and two others, at least one of whom knows she's a Cape." Hannah growled. "Yazi spotted her fleeing from the Hebert's house as it burned down and given that Taylor had stored several books there in which she had recorded the campaign of bullying that she had been subjected to… that's both murder _and_ attempting to pervert the course of justice. In addition, going back over the records shows that it was her who designated Yazi as hostile to begin with."

Emily lowered her face into her hands.

"So, let me get this straight." She said, her voice slightly muffled. "Hess bullied Taylor Hebert into Triggering, managed to set us against her before we'd had a chance to assess the situation, killed Taylor's dad, burned down his house and generally did her best to hide how much she'd fucked things up for us?"

"I'm afraid so, Director. Our lawyers are already starting damage control but right now? We're over a barrel and Calle _knows_ it."

The door to the office opened and an armoured figure stepped in, moving round Miss Militia and kneeling down next to the still-twitching Ward, fastening a thick bracelet around her left wrist.

"Armsmaster?" Emily prompted as he stood up.

"My apologies, I needed to build the cuff before I could secure her." Colin stated. "It contains a power cell taken from one of my older halberds, a tracking beacon, a charged coil of wire to prevent Miss Hess from utilizing her Breaker form and a remote-operated micro-taser so that Miss Militia may be spared for other duties. I have uploaded a control-app for the cuff to your phone."

Emily bit down on the near-reflexive snark that seemed to bubble to the surface whenever she had to interact with the antisocial Tinker and simply pulled out her phone to check. Sure enough, a new symbol flashed on her screen and she hid a smile as she saw a small picture of Shadow Stalker's mask surrounded by static-charged hair and stylized lightning bolts.

"Interesting choice of symbols."

"I asked Dragon to help with the coding while I constructed the hardware."

"Ah." Emily nodded as Hannah giggled at her phone's newest App. "Of course."

.

.

"… _and as a result of the initial misunderstanding snowballing, the PRT mistakenly concluded that Miss Hebert was a criminal when in fact, the reverse was the case."_ Emily Piggot said from the television screen that Quentin Calle had set up so that his largest client could watch from the parking lot. _"To aid in making reparations, we have begun an investigation not only into how the starting events could have been so grievously misinterpreted, but also into the campaign of bullying which resulted in Miss Hebert's trigger. We have already made several arrests, including the person we believe to have been behind the death of Danny Hebert, Miss Hebert's father.  
_ " _We at the PRT will ensure that recent events are learned from…"_

Quentin switched off the television and looked out of the window at Taylor, who had a totally unreadable expression on her draconic face.

"The PRT has agreed to pay three million dollars in damages as well as aid in prosecuting the three girls who were bullying you." He said with a triumphant smirk. "They've also indicated that they've arrested the one who killed your father and since that person is a Cape, they will be pushing for the Birdcage."

Taylor gave a slow nod, then an inquisitive sound.

"So, what do you want to do next?" Quentin asked and Dinah popped up to look at him from over Taylor's head.

"We want a tower." She stated and Taylor nodded. "And there's a 94.126 percent chance that you can see the advantages of co-operating with a pre-cog and a teleporting dragon."

"I can indeed." Quinn agreed and Taylor could almost see the aura of dollar signs surrounding him. "I can indeed…"

.

.

The students of Saint Mary's School scattered to the edges of the playing field as a long, sinuous shadow heralded the arrival of their most-newly-famous student and her bodyguard. Taylor touched down lightly and then coiled her tail round to provide Dinah with a platform to stand on once she finished unbuckling herself from the saddle. The young girl hopped onto the proffered tail and rode it down to ground level.

"Thank you." She said, giving the huge winged lizard a hug. "You have your phone on?"

Taylor nodded, motioning towards the side of her head where a small metallic shape was visible.

"Then I'll see you this afternoon." Dinah smiled. "There's a 0.104 percent chance that someone will try to kidnap me, so I think I'm fairly safe for now."

Taylor nodded, then spread her wings and leaped into the air, vanishing an instant later with the _clap_ of air rushing to fill the space that she had just vacated.

.

Thomas Calvert sighed as he re-watched the imagery. While having a pre-cog would be an incredible advantage to his plans, having a teleporting dragon out for his blood would be an even greater _dis_ advantage. He had already tried twice and each time, his mercenaries had been caught by Yazi before they'd even managed to corner Dinah.

Sometimes, even the greatest prize had to be left unclaimed.


	12. Power Of Legacy - Worm & Generator gawl

For as long as I have been alive, I have had powers. These powers were designed and implanted into my mother, but because she was an adult, she could not use them.

But she was never intended to.

You see, Mother was a follower of Lustrum in her youth. Yes, _that_ Lustrum, the Ultra-Feminist Cape who ended up in the Birdcage. Oh, she left the Movement when it turned violent, but not before…

… _The Project_.

You see, Lustrum had a problem. Not many female Capes chose to join her, too many were heterosexual, so she decided to solve the problem in a unique way. One of the few Capes working for her was a Tinker specialized in combat bio-augmentation. She came up with the ultimate weapon.

The _Include Cells_.

Very few people have ever heard of them and the Tinker in question (along with many of Lustrum's more militant followers) was killed when Lustrum's crew went _just_ too far and brought the wrath of the PRT down on their heads. But these Cells, they were meant to be the future.

They were meant to create an entire _generation_ of Capes.

The Include Cells could be implanted into anyone, but activating them would kill whoever they were in. Their _children_ , however, would grow with the Include Cells as an integral part of their body, woven in amongst their regular cells and reinforcing them.

What does this mean?

As I grew, I got faster and stronger, far more than a regular human. Mother always told me to hide my strength, to keep my enhanced senses a secret, to remember that not everyone can run faster than a car for several hours. By the PRT ratings, I think I would be something like a Brute 3/Mover 2.

But when I _activate_ the Cells, call upon their power?

It scared my mother almost to death when I first manifested my battle-form. My skin turned into steel-hard armour plating, my hair was encased in a long tail-like structure that I could control at will, my limbs were sharp and I have yet to find anything my talons cannot pierce. My strength and speed also increase amazingly, I can throw tanks and move almost faster than the eye can see.

On the downside, I cannot talk in that form, nor even make facial expressions.

And my clothing does _not_ survive the transformation.

Most irritating.

.

I had intended to let my best friend Emma in on my secret, but my mother made me promise to wait until I was at least sixteen before telling anyone. It turned out that it was a good move since she turned against me, ditching me for a new friend.

Sophia Hess.

Along with their hanger-on, Madison Clements, they try to bully me. Ruining my homework, pouring juice over me. Things hit a new level when they tried to push me into my locker which they had filled with…

…yeah. Fortunately, my reaction speed allowed me to dodge and instead, Hess went headfirst into the mess.

It was glorious.

It also got me expelled.

I tried to tell them that it was an accident that I ended up kneeling on her back as she was neck-deep in that mess, that before she used her power to escape, I had no clue that she was Shadow Stalker, but apparently _I_ was the one responsible for outing a Ward and they tried to arrest me. When I heard Hess gloating over how I'd end up in the Bird Cage, I…

Apparently, they think that I _Triggered_ from that.

I'm a villain now. Just because I used my battle-form to rip my way out of the containment foam and my speed let me punch Velocity into the wall as he tried to Tazer me.

Electricity stings. I wasn't happy.

Kaiser has apparently offered to give me a place in the Empire 88. White girl forced into hiding by a black girl… I'm propaganda gold for him.

Oh yeah, the PRT has relocated the entire Hess family and Emma's in Juvie.

My dad caught my apparent Trigger on the news, searched my room and found the records I'd been keeping. When the PRT tried to pressure him, he leaked my records online. The resulting investigation decided that Hess' campaign against me set things up for me to Trigger, but I'm still listed as a criminal for breaking Velocity's leg.

It was an accident!

I've been on the streets for several months now, avoiding the PRT patrols. My normal speed and strength mean I can leap from roof to roof above their heads and the drug-dealers are rich-pickings for me.

And the one time that Skidmark tried to confront me?

I used my battle-form and overturned the tank-thing that he and Squealer were in at the time. Of course, Armsmaster intervened and tried to attack _me_ rather than capture the two _real_ criminals…

Can you believe that?

Maybe if I'd been able to speak, I might have persuaded him to do his job…

Oh well. Water under the bridge and all that.

.

It's odd how thoughts wander at times like this, just when I'm about to go into battle.

Below me, Lung is telling his minions to kill children.

Not in _my_ town!

.

* * *

.

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Topic: Lung Ruptured!  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

► **TheGrinningWriter** (Original Poster)

You remember that fuss a few months ago with Shadow Stalker Outed and the girl she was trying to bully Triggering? Well, it would seem that the rumors are true and Taylor Hebert has indeed been lurking in the shadows of Brockton Bay.  
And last night, she did something that has never been done before.  
She took down Lung!  
We know this because someone was filming the ABB meeting from a nearby building (Link) and caught the whole thing. She appears at 04:36 into the clip and… Holy shit! Just… Holy! Shit!

.

(Viewing page 1 of 8)

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► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Okay, first, that's one hell of an entrance. That building Lung was in front of? Eight stories tall and Hebert just _bombs_ him, leaving a crater! Lung doesn't even have time to start ramping up before he's ragdolled into a lamp-post and has his legs broken! That's gotta hurt. The ABB recover quite quickly and open fire… for five seconds, then they're all down. That's a solid Mover 3 at least. Then Lung gets up on his healed legs… and gets ragdolled for a _very_ satisfying six minutes until Armsmaster appears, whereupon Hebert just… runs _straight_ up the wall and vanishes.  
I say it again, holy shit!

.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

She didn't do that at Winslow… **  
**.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

No shit, Void! Look, we've all seen her Trigger Event on Youtube, there's no way she could have done any of that before! Sheesh!

.

► **PaleWalker**

Well, looks like the ABB just got whacked down by a white teenaged girl.  
Satisfying as anything.

.

► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

My sources say that Lung's not the first Cape she's hit. Apparently she took out one of Squealer's monster-tank-things, but the Merchant Capes escaped before Armsmaster could arrest them.  
Rumor says that she may have been responsible for the Hookwolf Flight as well.

.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

I just looked at her Trigger Event again and realized, you can see her clothes shredding as she becomes that Bugmonster! She's totally nekkid!

**[BrocktonBayMod] Void, this is a warning, Taylor Hebert is still underage and this is not a NSFW thread. Drop it. Now.**

.

► **Wallflower**

*Facepalm* God-damn it, Void!  
[edit – Mod beat me to it]

.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

Wait, Hebert may have been the one to send Hookwolf flying over the Plaza?  
Whoa!

.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

[Post deleted]

**[BrocktonBayMod] You were told to drop it! Take 48 hour timeout to think about what that means.**

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

GODDAMIT VOID!  
WHEN A MOD SAYS TO DROP SOMETHING, YOU BLOODY DROP IT!

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Page [1, 2, 3… 5, 6, 7]

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► **SpecificProtagonist**

…no, I don't intend to Ship Hebert with anyone.  
She's a freak.

.

► **AllSeeingEye**

You mean like Weld is?

.

► **SpecificProtagonist**

No! Weld's a real gentleman and hero and I want to meet him some day!  
Taylor's just a freak. She was a freak at school and she's a freak now.

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

SpecificProtagonist Don't you dare call her a Freak! She saved my daughter from being raped by E88 skinheads. Taylor, if you're reading this, thanks. I owe you a huge one.

.

► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Guys, my sources have just said that Collateral Damage Barbie just tried to capture Taylor.  
Anyone near Medhall?

.

► **PaleWalker**

Holy crap! Erm…

[Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]

That's a _lot_ of damage!

.

► **AllSeeingEye**

Looking at it, the impact indentations seem mainly to be Gloryhole-sized. Looks like the Blond Bimbo caught Taylor by surprise (with a thrown dumpster?), then had the tables turned on her big time.  
Wow. That's gotta hurt.

.

► **CallTheMedic**

Photon Mom and Panacea just showed up. Panacea's healing Glory Girl now.

.

► **AllSeeingEye**

From the last picture, it looks like Gloryhole has at least one broken leg and a damaged spine.  
Alexandria-types shouldn't take that much damage from being slammed into the ground like that, just look at the depth of the depressions.  
She shouldn't have been that injured… unless she's _not_ a true Alexandria-type…  
I need to consider this…

.

► **CallTheMedic**

AllSeeingEye Your diagnosis is scarily accurate, but you missed the broken ribs too.  
SpecificProtagonist I'd stop calling her a freak if I were you.  
She took down Glory Girl, think about what she's do to a mere human.

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Page [1, 2, 3… 6, 7, 8]

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► **Brandish** (New Wave) (Verified Cape)

Official Announcement – Glory Girl is currently in a stable condition after her battle with Taylor Hebert and will return to active status soon.

.  
► **CallTheMedic**

Damn, that's cold. She didn't even give Panacea a thank-you.

.

► **PRTAgent** (Official PRT Agent)

In light of recent events, the parahuman Taylor Hebert has been given the official threat ratings of Brute 5, Mover 3.  
More details will follow.

.

► **SadCat** (Doesn't Smile At You)

Brute 5, Mover 3 and wow, does she look scary.  
I vote for Nightmare as her name.

.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

SadCat Nightmare is a villainous Tinker who uses a set of power armor in California.  
I vote for Smackdown.

.

► **AllSeeingEye**

Descriptive. I like it.

.

► **BulliedByAWard** (Verified Cape)

Actually, I prefer Gawl.

.

► **AllSeeingEye**

…  
…  
oh.  
okay…  
(backs away slowly, trying to look as innocent as possible)

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

Gawl approximates as _Gosh_ , as in an exclamation of surprise and/or worry.  
I can see that, surely anyone facing Gawl would be surprised and worried.

.

► **SpecificProtagonist**

No! No! No! How the hell did _Hebert_ get an account on PHO?

.

Page [1, 2, 3… 6, 7, 8]

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► **TinMother** (SuperMod)

SpecificProtagonist Simple. She has yet to be convicted of any actual crime. Until or unless she is, she can create and use an account here, just like you can.

.

► **DockKeeper**

BulliedByAWard, I'm sending you a PM. Be safe and I'm pulling in favors.

.

► **SpecificProtagonist**

Um, what?  
Seriously. What?

.

► **PRTAgent** (Official PRT Agent)

Official statement: The Rogue known as Gawl is requested to report to the PRT HQ for questioning regarding Velocity's injury during her Trigger Event.  
Gawl, please PM for further details.

.

► **SpecificProtagonist**

WHAT? That bitch shoved Sophia into a locker full of crap, outed her, injured Velocity and tried to kill Glory Girl!  
What the fuck is going on?

**[BrocktonBayMod] This is a warning. Calm down.**

.

► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Apparently, things are still in flux, but…  
Locker/Shadow Stalker's Outing – Shadow Stalker was bullying Gawl for over a year.  
Velocity – He attacked first thinking that Gawl was trying to kill Shadow Stalker.  
Glory Girl – She attacked with attempted lethal force (thrown dumpster).  
Right now, things look far less cut-and-dried than people think.

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards  
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.  
Topic: Wave Expansion  
In: Boards ► Heroes ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

 **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Original Poster)

You remember that fuss a few months ago with Shadow Stalker Outed leading to Lung Ruptured and the PRT clamping down _hard_ on their leaks? Well, the truth is out now and New Wave has a new member.  
Taylor Hebert (AKA Gawl) has officially joined New Wave. Her current ratings are Changer 3, Brute 5, Mover 3. She is attending Arcadia now and the PRT has paid out several million dollars to her (and her father) as part of their admission that they screwed up overseeing Sophia Hess/Shadow Stalker. Winslow High School is now under new leadership with former-Principal Blackwell blacklisted across the entire USA. If she gets a better job than flipping burgers, I'll be amazed.  
You can see Gawl's official introduction here. Apparently, Parian has been hired to provide her with outfits for if she deploys unChanged

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(Viewing page 1 of 215)

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► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

So she's getting a stripper outfit from the Dollgirl?  
Also, first!

**[BrocktonBayMod Also your last, Void. You're Threadbanned. Permanently.]**

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► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

Dammit, Void! Even for you that was stupid!  
Edit – Ninja'd by Mod.

.  
► **StaysOutOfTheWay**

So, the PRT loses a so-called hero that was never more than a barely-leashed sadist and New Wave get someone who can flatten Lung. I think that's a good trade-up.

.  
► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Rumour has it that Director Costa-Brown spent several hours chewing Armsmaster out for not keeping SS under proper control. On a totally unrelated matter, Miss Militia is now leading the Brockton Bay Wards and Armsmaster may be about to be traded for a Hero from another city.

.  
► **SingsInTheShower**

That's gotta sting for him.

.  
► **PRTAgent** (Official PRT Agent)

Official statement from the PRT.  
Armsmaster is transferring to New York where he will be working directly for Legend. We of Brockton Bay PRT wish him the best of luck. In his absence, Miss Militia will be taking up the duties of Ward Overseer.  
We are honored to announce that Rime is transferring in from Los Angeles to assume the position of Team Leader for the PRT.  
Statement ends.

.  
► **TheLongshoreman**

Rime, huh? Well, I'm sure that she can… COOL things down!

.  
► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

That was bad and you should feel bad.

.  
► **AllSeeingEye**

Interesting… For the uninitiated, Rime has control over ice, including generating and manipulating it.  
Battlefield control is quite a thing if you're good enough with ice.  
I foresee Ice Cleats becoming _de-rigor_ for villains in the very near future…

.  
► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

Well, all Kaiser will need to do is add blade-grips to his feet and I don't think Hookwolf will be slowed down much.

.  
Page [1, 2, 3… 9, 10, 11]

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► **SpecificProtagonist**

Hebert cost us one of the few Heros willing to slap down villains! Why is everyone suddenly sucking up to her?

.  
► **TrueImperial**

Hess was a perfect example of her race. Her loss is of no import.

**[BrocktonBayMod This is a warning, TrueImperial. Cut back on the racist stuff or you'll have your posting privileges cut.]**

.  
► **WalksOnTheSidewalk**

Holy shit, people! Check this out!  
Yep, that's Glory Girl, Panacea and Gawl taking down Hookwolf and Cricket! Gawl just _rips_ the blades out of Hookwolf and GG sends Cricket sprawling, for Panacea to finish off! Nice one Panacea! You are one badass Healer!

.  
► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Holy crap, that fight between Gawl and Hookwolf is _brutal_! See how the first thing she does is slam him out through the window and onto the street? That's collateral damage reduction. GG should take notes on that. Then from the glimpses we see, Hookwolf's blades can't even scratch her… deyaaam! Color me impressed!

.  
► **PaleWalker**

You know, that earlier fight between GG and Gawl? Looks like it was a pre-team-up battle like in those Earth-Aleph Comics!

.  
► **PRTAgent** (Official PRT Agent)

Official statement from the PRT.  
The New Wave members Panacea, Glory Girl and Gawl have captured the E88 capes Hookwolf and Cricket, who are now in custody awaiting transport.  
The PRT extends its thanks to New Wave for their assistance.

.  
► **Brandish** (New Wave) (Verified Cape)

Official Announcement – Glory Girl, Gawl and Panacea were engaged by the E88 capes Hookwolf and Cricket today. The E88 capes were subdued and handed over to the PRT.  
New Wave congratulates Gawl on her first capture of a villainous Cape and Glory Girl for leading the team to victory.

.  
► **AllSeeingEye**

Notice how Brandish doesn't congratulate Panacea despite her being the one to KO Cricket.  
Something isn't right in that team…

.  
► **CallTheMedic**

AllSeeingEye You may be right. Brandish is always distant and standoffish to Panacea.  
I'll ask my co-workers to keep an eye out.

.

.

"I've been wondering." Victoria mused as she sat down and picked up the burger from her tray. "Why Gawl?"

I glanced around at the other customers of Fugly Bob's, but no-one seemed to be paying that much attention to us. Or at least, they were not sitting closely enough to overhear if I kept my voice down.

"My mother was a follower of Lustrum before things started to go violent." I said, pausing to take a sip from my milkshake. Beside me, Amy looked interested. "Lustrum had a bio-tinker who started a project, code-named GAWL. Genetically Augmented Womenfolk's Liberators. Mum was used as a testbed for the project, but due to how it was done, she herself couldn't use the powers it gave, but as her daughter, I can. I use that name to remember her by."

"That explains why your Polentia's are still inactive!" Amy gasped in sudden understanding. "It's not the same type of power as the rest of us!"

"And explains why I'm so ridiculously healthy." I chuckled, thinking back to when Panacea had scanned me to make sure that I wasn't ill, then had spent the rest of the day simply gawping at me. "Like this, I'm a Brute 2 or 3 and possibly a Mover 2. In my battle-form… well, you know my official ratings."

"Wait." Vicky looked shocked. "Amy, are you saying that Taylor could still Trigger with powers?"

"Um, yes? Perhaps?"

"Holy… wow." Vicky looked shocked and I couldn't help but smirk slightly. Sure, she's a nice girl, but she's so impulsive that I almost suspected her of having ADHD.

Or as I once heard it called, Attention Deficit _Ooooh Shiny_!

"Anyway." I reclaimed control of the conversation. "There you have it. I have powers so I'm a Parahuman. The fact I got my powers in a different way isn't important."

"Still awesome." Vicky shook her head in disbelief. "Um, if you have kids, will they…?"

I nodded. "Yes, although I don't know if I'll ever have any. Not many capes manage to have kids, after all."

"Um, from what I could tell of your biology, if you become pregnant, you won't be able to transform during your pregnancy." Amy said quietly. "I disabled the gender-selection bit when I gave you the checkup… before, you would only have been able to bear daughters…"

"That doesn't come as a surprise, given Lustrum's views." I sighed. "Thanks."

Amy lowered her head and took a bite from her burger, then the sound of a door slamming open caught our attention. Four skinheads strode in, bandanas across their faces and weapons in their hands.

"Oh, fuck." I swore, looking down at my clothes before standing up. "I just got these."

"This will be _awesome_." Vicky grinned as she rose to her feet, cracking her knuckles. One of the E88 members looked across and paled.

"Shit, it's Gawl! Run!"

Vicky gave me an amused glare as the skinheads scrambled back out at high speed.

"What?"

" _It's Gawl_?" She quoted. "Usually they shout _It's Glory Girl_! I have no idea how I feel about this."

I shrugged. "Sorry?"

Vicky opened her mouth to respond, but Amy's giggles caught her attention. "It's not funny, Ames!"

Amy's giggles turned into full-out laughter as Vicky continued to mock-complain about me upstaging her.

.

* * *

.

"Why are we here again?" I asked as on the stage that had been set up in the middle of the shopping mall, a PRT employee blathered on about how the Wards were the best choice for new Parahumans despite the damage to their reputation that Hess had caused.

"We're showing the other options." Crystal Pelham said as Vicky looked round for any sign of her boyfriend. "While you're the first member of New Wave _not_ related to us, hopefully you won't be the last."

Before I could answer, cheering broke out as the Wards trooped onto the stage with the lone girl, Vista, in the lead. However, as they finished lining up, the lights went out.

"Is this supposed to happen?" I asked and Eric shook his head as he prepared to summon his shields.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE UBER AND LEET SHOW!" A voice resounded and I sighed as I unfastened the buckles that held my outfit together in preparation for transforming. "TODAY, OUR SPECIAL GUESTS ARE THE WARDS AND THE GAME IS…"

"BUSTER BROS!" L33T's voice filled in the gap left by Uber. "POP THE BUBBLES, BUT IF ONE HITS YOU, YOU'LL BE TRAPPED UNTIL THE END OF THE GAME!"

"AND NOW, LET'S BEGIN!" Uber's voice finished as the lights came on to reveal several large bubbles descending from above. Kid Win reaced first, pulling out a small pistol and firing it at the bubble above him, only for it to split into two smaller ones.

"I'll protect the civilians!" Eric announced as he created a force-field above the starting-to-panic crowd. "Get everyone into the shops and… damn it, Vicky! Don't do that!"

Above us, Vicky drew back her fist and with a shout, she punched one of the bubbles, only to be sucked into it.

"I'll track down Uber and Leet." I offered, then I _reached_ inside myself and triggered my ability.

.

"Looking good." L33T gloated as he glanced at the monitor on his wrist. "Looks like New Wave are here too, Collateral Damage Barbie just got caught. Shielder's bouncing the Bubbles away from the public, so let's up the level."

Uber nodded from where he was opening the safe. "Sounds good, and… aha! Here we are, the codes for the bank accounts. You'll be able to get that device from Toybox that you… _shit_!"

The wall seemed to explode as an armoured figure launched itself into the room, a figure that both villains recognized instantly.

"Holy shit!" L33T squealed in fear. "It's Gawl! We're screwed!"

.

* * *

.

"…what."

Aegis winced as Director Piggot glared at him.

"It's not his fault, ma'am." Kid Win tried to deflect her rising ire. "We were concentrating on countering the bubbles."

Emily Piggot leaned forwards, rising out of her seat and resting her fists on the table. "So, while you were increasing the threat posed by the bubbles, it was up to New Wave to protect the civilians and move them into shelter while Gawl tracked down and captured both Uber and Leet, correct?"

The Wards stood silently, unable to come up with a response.

"Your primary responsibility is to protect the public!" Piggot growled. "Not get shown up by New Wave! Now get out!"

As the Wards filed out, Rime stepped out of the corner that she had been watching from.

"That's not really fair to them, Director. They're still only kids."

"So were the New Wave members there." Piggot countered. "Tell Miss Militia to get them trained up to a _proper_ standard. If Armsmaster were still here, he'd be having to answer a _lot_ of questions at this point."

"Yes, Director."

.

* * *

.

The Boardwalk was fairly busy as Amy and I walked down it. Amy had chosen to wear a lightweight outfit with mesh sleeves so that she could enjoy the warm breeze without the annoyance of being jolted by the biology of anyone who brushed past her. The light tapping of her trainers contrasted with the slight flapping of my sandals which had been designed to simply fall off should I need to transform, but to stay firmly secured to my feet otherwise. My own clothing was a relatively modest dress, reaching down past my knees, although the side was slit up to mid-thigh to allow me to run should I need to.

Not that I expected to. One of the more interesting points of being an Open Cape is that would-be muggers tend to look at you, then decide that being somewhere else would be a good idea.

"Amazing how peaceful it is." Amy mused, then she looked up at me as I gave a dramatic wince. "What?"

"You should never say things like that." I mock-scolded her. "It's like saying things like _what could possibly go wrong_ or when things _have_ done so, _at least things can't get any worse_."

Amy chuckled and shook her head. "Really?"

"The universe is easily tempted." I pointed out, remembering some of the stories I had heard at the Docks when I was younger. "Don't make it any easier for the universe to act."

"I don't believe you." Amy countered, then her eyes widened in shock. "…taylor…"

I winced. "ABB? E88?"

"Taylor, they're… like _you_!"

I paused for a moment, then spun round, following her line of sight to the rooftops where two figures were standing. One of them looked somewhat like mannequin of a woman, her head boasting a recognizable, albeit obviously immobile, face. The second one, half-crouched behind her, resembled a giant insect with four arms which ended in long, serrated edges.

"…shit." I cursed, glancing round and seeing the other pedestrians start to look up. "They're focused on me. Amy, get to shelter, now."

"…but…"

"You're squishy. I'm not." I pointed out, using ruthless logic. "Get moving. I'll hold them as long as I can…"

" **Which won't be very long at all."** The woman stated, her voice echoing in a similar way to the few vocalisations that I could make when in my Battle Form.

"Go!" I hissed to Amy, giving her a gentle but firm push and quickly moving my little finger and thumb to form the phone symbol, hiding it from the rooftop duo. Amy's eyes widened and she nodded before running off. I watched her go, then glanced round to see that almost all of the other pedestrians had also vacated the area.

Very wise of them. No-one with any sense likes to risk getting caught up in a Cape battle.

"What do you want with me?" I called out and the woman rose into the air, slowly descending to hover in front of me without twitching.

" **What do** _ **I**_ **want? Nothing. What do those I** _ **work**_ **for want? You. You are a valuable asset which has yet to be claimed, offspring seventeen of the Genetically Augmented Womenfolk Liberator project. You will come with me and you will serve as the attack beast you are."**

As the intruder spoke, the bug-like Cape extended a set of transparent wings and rose above us, arms moving ready to strike.

"Do I even get to know your names?" I hedged, concentrating on building up my inner power. With her so close, I needed to transform as fast as possible to make it hard for her to attack me while I was vulnerable.

" **Who are we?"** She sounded amused. **"I am the Königlicher Aufseher and this is my aide, Todessensen."**

"Gesselschaft." I growled and Aufseher laughed.

" **Very good, sklavin. You cannot win against…"**

The rest of her sentence was cut off as I activated my power, transforming faster than I had ever changed before. My feet burst out of the sandals, the magnetic poppers giving way just as they should, but my dress and underwear fragmented as my armor formed, solidifying just in time for Todessensen's blade to strike it…

…causing a small chip to break off.

This was going to be… interesting.

**.**

* * *

**.**

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.  
Topic: Boardwalk Standoff  
In: Boards ► Current Affairs ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

 **FatKidsAreHardToKidnap** (Original Poster)

My frends and I r the Boardwalk and tese two Capes just came outta nowhere nd are confronting Gawl! they look just lk her!  
Link to friends live phones here and here

.

(Viewing page 3 of 3)

.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

I wonder if she's going to do a Hookwolf Air on them?

.

► **ThePaleWalker**

Doubtful. My sources say that they've been sent to bring her to heel.

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

Fuck! They're fighting!

.

► **CallTheMedic**

It looks like Gawl's taking damage! I thought she was bulletproof? How are they doing that?

.

* * *

.

Todessensen herself I could probably have dealt with. Her blades were able to damage me, but I had already managed to shatter her upper-left arm with a well-timed swipe from my head-tail, cutting back on the number of blades that she could try to hit me with and encouraging her to hold back lest I injure her further.

The real problem was that Todessensen _wasn't_ by herself and Aufseher was a damned _flying Blaster_! Not only did I have to worry about Todessensen's blades, but Aufseherwas able to just hang back and fire those damned beams at me whenever Todessensen retreated and those beams _hurt_!

" **You really should just give up."** Aufseher taunted as she fired another beam at me. I managed to dodge it and she side-slipped for a better firing angle. **"A mere** _ **brute**_ **like yourself cannot hope to match one like me. I am the second-born, created to lead and to** _ **rule**_ **! You will learn your place at my feet!"**

With a growl, I pulled up one of the brick pavers of the Boardwalk and hurled it at her before spinning to block the strike that Todessensen had tried to launch at my spine, obviously hoping to paralyse me. The giant bug-cape managed to retreat fast enough that my retaliatory strike went wide, then I had to dodge yet another of the damned blasts from above. As I dodged, I unleashed the _second_ paver I had pried up, this one hitting the damned bug in the head and sending her crashing into a display window.

With her temporarily out of the way, I turned my attention to Aufseher who was hovering high enough that should I try to jump at her, she could easily evade.

How was I going to deal with her?

"Taylor!"

I half-turned to see that Todessensen had somehow managed to grab Amy and was holding a blade-limb to her throat as she pushed her through the door and onto the street. Aufseher looked to where my attention was and laughed.

" **Well, it would seem that my minion has managed to win the battle for me. Surrender, or your little whore will have her blood spilled over the street."**

Rage filled me and I felt the power inside me rise to a level far beyond anything that I had ever felt before.

.

Amy struggled as much as she could, then froze as a blade lightly stroked her throat. Her shoulders felt almost as if they were being torn out of their sockets as the Cape behind her gripped her arms at the elbows, using its superior strength to force Amy to move as she directed without letting her actually get any skin contact to use her power with.

"… **spilled over the street."** The flying Cape before her gloated and Amy's eyes widened as she stared pleadingly at Taylor's armored form.

Taylor seemed to freeze, then suddenly her body clenched and expanded, her pauldrons each extruding a long whiplike extension while the lower part of her faceplate cracked horizontally, the jagged crack opening to reveal itself to be a mouth that emitted a loud howl.

" **Todenssensen, cripple the…"** Aufseher began, then Taylor seemed to vanish and Amy was suddenly free even as a blood-freezing howl sounded behind her. Spinning round, Amy's jaw dropped as she saw Taylor standing behind the Bug Cape, her hand thrust straight through its torso, ichor dripping from the wound and the Gawl-project-specific crystal that had been embedded in its chest (and which Amy _still_ hadn't worked out the purpose of) in Taylor's grip. An instant later, the crystal shattered in Taylor's grip and the Bug Cape let out a despairing whine before fragmenting, falling apart and dissolving into dust.

" **You shall** _ **both**_ **die for that!"** Ausfeher snarled and Amy turned back to see the flying Cape unleashing _two_ massive blasts at her before her vision was blocked by Taylor's torso. The energy blasts struck Taylor's back, but her friend didn't even twitch.

"Rwwwrrrrruuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn."

Amy nodded and scurried back into the building that she had been watching from, this time heading towards the back in order to get as far out of the firing line as possible.

.

Vicky crested the rooftop just in time to see the twin blasts of energy almost splash off Taylor who was looking even scarier than normal. Clenching her fists, she prepared to attack, then froze in shock as Taylor almost blurred across the street, launching herself into the air so fast that the flying cape couldn't avoid her in time. Grabbing one ankle, Taylor swung herself up, ignoring the multiple blasts fired at her from literal point-blank range even though they carved gouges into her armored carapace, then she stabbed her hand straight into the chest of the energy-firing enemy. With a almost-metallic scream, the enemy Cape seemed to fragment into a blast of energy, sending Taylor crashing to the ground, where she lay motionless.

"Taylor!"

.

* * *

.

Topic: Boardwalk Standoff  
In: Boards ► Current Affairs ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

 **FatKidsAreHardToKidnap** (Original Poster)

My frends and I r the Boardwalk and tese two Capes just came outta nowhere nd are confronting Gawl! they look just lk her!  
Link to friends live phones here and here

.

(Viewing page 163 of 197)

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

Anyone got an update? Were those Capes really from Gesselschaft?

.

► **ThePaleWalker**

Shit. The Boss is going to be pissed.

.

► **PhotonMom** (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

The investigation has just begun, but the attackers did claim to be from Gesselschaft.  
Panacea reports that Gawl is suffering from exhaustion and minor injuries which her unique powerset makes difficult to heal, but she will be fully recovered by the end of the week at the latest.

.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

Thank goodness. What was that she did at the end?

.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

It was a Super Saiyann mode!

.

► **TheLongshoreman**

…wat?

.

* * *

.

Everything ached.

After what seemed like several hours of cataloging how much I hurt (even my _toenails_ were throbbing! Toenails shouldn't throb!), I managed to crack open one eye to find myself looking up at a rather familiar ceiling, albeit one that wasn't mine.

I knew that, because my ceiling didn't have small glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to it.

"Taylor?"

I rolled my head (despite the protests of my neck muscles) to see Amy getting out of the chair by the bed so that she could take my hand.

"…amy…?"

"I'm fine." Amy said with a smile, although I could see her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Now, I need you to try and suppress your power as much as you can so that I can finish healing you. Can you do that?"

I turned my attention inwards and felt for the energy that permeated my body, energy which unfortunately hampered Amy's ability to heal me whenever it was active. Concentrating, I reduced its flow and felt Amy's power flowing into me, soothing my aches, relieving my bruises and generally helping me return to health once more.

"Taylor's awake!" Vicky hollered from the door and I heard footsteps thunder up the stairs as Amy's power withdrew from me, leaving no trace of the injuries that I had suffered. Starting to sit up, I paused, then peeked under the duvet covering me.

"Why am I naked?"

Amy blushed.

"Hang on, I'll get some clothes for you." Dad smiled at me from the doorway. "And Taylor… once you're up, prepare for the hug to end all hugs."

I smiled.

.

* * *

.

"No." I stated firmly as, sat beside me, Carol Brandish nodded in agreement with me. On the opposite side of the conference table, Emily Piggot looked resigned while Armsmaster (apparently temporarily returned to do some urgent work) and Miss Militia flanked her, the former seeming to be emotionless while the latter looked worried.

"No, I will not join the Wards." I continued. "While I admit that you have improved the oversight procedures, you must remember who it was who forced me to reveal my abilities in the first place."

"It may be the only way to protect you." Piggot insisted. "There is already a move to have you designated as a _Tinkertech Product_ and seized."

I paused. That particular wrinkle had occurred to me, since I knew of my heritage, but…

"It was because of the two at the Boardwalk, wasn't it?" I sighed and Piggot nodded.

"Certain individuals have used what happened to start an investigation, one which resulted in the… circumstances of your… creation… being discovered. Tests on what remained of the two who attacked you showed that their DNA has extra-dimensional portions. Your own DNA, recovered from the scene, shows the same."

"I know." I leaned back in my chair. "However, there are two things that the PRT has overlooked. The first is that I'm not actually a Parahuman. Amy's confirmed that my Pollentias are inactive and legally speaking, Parahumans are those who have _active_ Pollentias. Without them being active, I don't actually fall under the PRT's area of responsibility. My powers can be proven to not be derived from Pollentias, after all."

Piggot opened her mouth and I quickly raised a finger. "As for the DNA aspect, that comes under the heading of Parahuman Augmentation. Brandish?"

Carol's grin looked like something that should have been found slicing through the water towards an unsuspecting surfer. "Yes. John Ironfist verses The State of Florida. The argument was that as John's right arm was a non-removable Tinkertech prosthetic that tied directly into his nervous system, he was a de-facto Parahuman. The end judgement was that, irrespective of when, how or why Parahuman-derived augmentations were applied, it did not change the human/parahuman status of the recipient of the augmentations. You should know this, Emily, the Supreme Court confirmed it only two years ago."

Emily's expression was a study in contrasts. Part of it was annoyance at being blocked, but there was also an unholy glee in there.

"I see that you have covered your bases." She finally admitted. "Very well. This part of the meeting is concluded."

Reaching out, she pressed a button on the recording device that had been placed in the middle of the table. The lights on the device went dark while two spring-loaded compartments opened, causing the memory cards contained within to extend outwards for ease of removal. As Armsmaster retrieved and stowed the card from their side of the device, Carol did the same with the card on our side.

"Now that that unpleasantness is over," Piggot closed the folder before her and pulled across another one. "The others like you. What can you tell us?"

"Quite a bit." I admitted. "My mother managed to copy all of the project notes before she left. Not surprising that she could, given that she was one of the test subjects. My power comes from the Include Cells, which I can access because they are a truly integral part of my biology. My mother had them, but they were implanted rather than integrated, so she couldn't use them herself, but all of her children would have been fully empowered.

"The actual name of the project was Genetically Augmented Womenfolk's Liberators…"

"Gawl." Piggot realized. "You used the acronym as your name."

"Until recently, I thought that I was the only one." I admitted. In retrospect, it had been a stupid thing to think. My mother had left before the mass arrests, but there had been others who had also been adjusted like her. I had no idea how many of them had escaped and proceeded to give birth to those like me. "While I was recovering, I looked through the notes.

"There were several types of Include Cells. The Type 1 were designed to be simple brute-type enhancements. Large, strong, almost immune to environmental hazards. Footsoldiers, as it were.  
"The Type 2 were animal-based. Using animal DNA as a base, they would develop differently. Wings for flight, blades that could cut through almost anything, the ability to swim incredibly fast or shift colors for concealment, it all depended on which animal was chosen as the base.  
"The Type 3 came about because Mother Bio, that's the Tinker who worked for Lustrum, made a breakthrough in duplicating some of the basic Parahuman powersets. Type 3s were basic Parahuman-style augments, although from her notes, she only really got the Mover, Striker, Blaster and Thinker powers duplicated. Type 3s had the basic brute enhancements of Type 1 or animal-basis of Type 2, but with an extra power placed on top of that.  
"The Type 4s were the most recent ones. Brute augments with two or three powers such as flying and energy blasts, but with their forms not changing from recognizably human. On the Boardwalk, I was up against a Type 3 and a Type 4."

"And what type are you?" Piggot asked curiously and I laughed mirthlessly.

"Type Omega. Hunter-Killer. My genotype was designed to be able to take out the other types. The crystals that act as the stabilization loci for our _otherforms_ are almost invulnerable, save for against my claws. I was meant to be the equivalent of Internal Security, taking out those who decided to rebel against Lustrum. There were going to be quite a few of my sort, but the downside? I literally cannot work alongside another Type Omega. We were designed to be unable to co-operate, even being in close proximity is enough to make us enraged."

"A security force that cannot unite against their commanders." Piggot sounded both impressed and horrified.

"It's a good thing that Mother Bio died during the raid." I admitted. "My mother was one of two infused with the Omega Include Cells and the other was, as far as I've been able to check, caught in the raid and died in prison."

"How many potentials are there?" Piggot asked and I shrugged.

"I don't really know. I'll pass a copy of the notes to the PRT, but you're better positioned than I am to check on these things. Before the Boardwalk, it never really occurred to me that there could be more like me, especially with how completely Lustrum's group was swept up."

"When I return to New York, I can have the files transferred." Armsmaster offered.

.

_Piggot pressed the button that accepted the conference call. The large screen lit up with the PRT logo, then it flickered to show sixteen squares, each with a different face on it. Ignoring her own face looking back at her from the bottom-left, Piggot shifted her gaze to meet that of Rebecca Costa-Brown._

" _Chief Director. Directors."_

" _Let's cut to the chase." The harsh voice of Director Tagg broke through. "Have you managed to secure that monster for dissection yet?"_

" _That_ Monster _is a teenaged girl." Piggot shot back disapprovingly. "We have no right to try and…"_

" _Bullshit!" Tagg interrupted. "That thing is the product of Tinkertech! My sources in Europe confirm that there are at least a dozen others like it, we need more for our own side! Once we have analyzed how those powers work, we can upgrade our troopers to take on those damned villains one-on-one!"_

" _It doesn't work that way." Piggot replied, her voice colder than ice. "Those who receive Include Cells cannot use them, they need to be integrated from conception…"_

" _Then we use clones." Tagg growled and Piggot laughed._

" _Miss Hebert explained the downside of her ability. If she was ever to meet another of the same type as her, she will enter a berserk rage until one of them is dead. If you try to mass-clone her, all you'll do is produce a local war-zone where_ everything _would be destroyed."_

_Tagg blinked. "What?"_

" _It's all in my report." Piggot stated._

" _It is." Costa-Brown confirmed. "It made for very interesting reading, especially the part that confirmed that we have no legal right to try and control her."_

_Tagg's spluttering warmed Piggot's heart slightly._

.

My tail twitched silently, but otherwise I was motionless, crouched with one hand to steady me and the other half-curled, ready to fight. All around me was the sound of lead against paper as the rest of the class busily sketched me while Mr Francesci walked round, offering encouragement and advice to them. Once he had finished making another circuit of the room, he walked over to me.

"Getting tired yet?"

Because I couldn't speak in my battle form, I simply gave a slight head-shake.

"You know, you may wish to learn sign language." The Art Teacher mused. "If you cannot speak, then signing may help."

I froze, then twitched as I fought down the urge to face-palm. My annoyance was not helped by the fact that Amy, who was sketching me from nearby, started to giggle.

She really could read me too well.

The warning bell rang and Mr Francesci turned to face the class. "Alright, pack up and put the pictures in your folders. Taylor, thank you for agreeing to model."

I straightened up, nodded to him, then strode across to the corner, where privacy curtains had been set up. Slipping between them, I _shifted_ back to my human mode and quickly got dressed, then stepped back out to rejoin the class.

"Good thing I don't have to try and draw myself." I noted quietly to Amy, who promptly turned red trying not to burst into giggles again. "Trying to hold a pencil in my claws without breaking it is a lot harder than people think."

Amy crammed her fist into her mouth to muffle her incipient laughter, even as she tried to glower at me.

"I'm hungry." I admitted as I stretched. It was odd that while I never cramped due to lack of motion in my Battle Form, reverting meant that some of the need to stretch I should have had carried over.

Meh, powers are weird. Even weird powers like mine.

.

I flopped down next to Vicky, watching as the other students filed onto the playing fields.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Vicky asked and I lifted an inquisitive eyebrow at her. Vicky waved one hand to where the other students were slowly separating into teams. "I used to love playing games, I was on the Basketball team before I got my powers. Now, as an Alexandria-type, I can't participate since it wouldn't be fair on the others."

"I never really liked PE." I admitted, then I sighed. "Of course, Sophia used to see it as a way to try and attack me whenever the teacher wasn't looking. Even if she hadn't, it was hard to hold back enough to avoid suspicion."

"…yeah, you've been a Cape pretty much from birth." Vicky nodded. "You may hold the record, the previous-youngest Cape was a boy who Triggered during an attack by Leviathon. I think he was six or seven… he was an Alexandria type, if I recall correctly."

I watched the two teams move to their respective portions of the soccer field before speaking.

"Mom used to laugh over how I scared her nearly to death by activating my Battle Form when she was trying to give me a bath." I admitted. "It was the first time I had done so, she hadn't expected me to be able to use my abilities that early. Fortunately, she insisted I kept quiet about it. If Emma had known back then…"

I winced slightly and Vicky did too, having obviously followed my thoughts.

"I looked up what happened to her." She said after a while. "Last bit of info I found, she was in a psychiatric hospital, undergoing the same type of treatment as those rescued from cults."

I blinked. What?

"What?"

Vicky nodded. "Yeah, seems that your old friend was attacked by the ABB and Stalker pulled her out. Apparently, your old friend decided to rebuild herself according to Sophia's outlook on life, not realizing just how twisted Psycho-Stalker really was. With Mr Barnes not wanting to believe that his daughter needed therapy… well, she's getting it now."

"And Mr Barnes?" I asked slowly.

"According to mom, he's out of the business." Vicky's eyes followed the ball as it was blasted towards one of the goals. "No-one's going to trust a lawyer who refuses to accept that his own flesh and blood needs help."

For a long moment, neither of us spoke, content to simply sit next to each other and watch as Amy tried to lead her side to victory, then Vicky turned to me with a wicked grin.

"So, what's this I hear about you posing naked for the entire class?"

The detention that Vicky and I got for my grabbing her and trying to dunk her into the duck pond was, in my opinion, more than worth it.


	13. Contact Boost - Worm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A oneshot of the QA Shard going the copy-paste route.

"Where is it?" Madison panicked as one hand held the broken chain that had once been a necklace. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Emma asked, looking away from the locker that now contained her one-time-friend-now-turned-target-to-prove-her-strength-on.

"The lock of hair!" Madison waved the chain, showing the broken links and lack of said item. "The one that Sophia arranged for me to get in exchange for… you know!"

Emma did indeed know. For all her ditsy appearance, Madison had proven herself a savant with anything electronic, having broken into the school's network (from her bedroom, no less!) and deleted all the e-mails that Taylor had tried to bring to the attention of the Principal. For her action in making Taylor look like even more of a deluded whiner than she actually was, Sophia had somehow arranged for Madison to receive a small lock of Weld's hair to wear on her necklace.

A necklace that was now broken.

"Look, I'll get you a replacement." Sophia sighed, then she grinned almost ferally. "Of course, I do need you to do something for me first. I overheard Mrs Nott say something to you-know-who about notes on her computer, I think she's taken the whinger's side."

"Do you want me to simply wipe it, or should I put something in instead?"

Sophia grinned, then suddenly she collapsed against the wall.

"Sophia!" "Soph! What happened!"

Sophia slowly pulled herself to her feet, aided by Emma.

"I… I think that…" She began, then the locker door was ripped from its hinges with a screech of metal that echoed down the hall, attracting everyone's attention. The silvery figure (clad in torn, dirty but very recognizable clothes) that unfolded itself from the locker and turned its furious gaze to the trio caused many of the students to start pulling out phones in order to get it on camera.

"No. Way." Emma managed. "No. Fucking. Way."

Of the three girls, only Madison was fast enough to duck out of the way as the ambulatory metal statue that had once been their (not entirely-metaphorical in Sophia's case) punching bag lunged forwards, grabbing Emma by her blouse and Sophia by her hoody, hoisting them both into the air and slamming them against the wall.

" **You! Bitches!"**

Taylor's voice was different, part of Emma's mind noted almost rationally as the rest of her gibbered in sudden fear. It seemed more metallic than before, sounding as if grinding metal was involved in the production of each word, but there was something else…

The memory rose with horrifying clarity. The one time that Emma had seen Taylor get angry, back when they were still only seven years old and an older boy had decided to take Emma's lunch money and backhand her when she tried to protest. Emma had been too busy trying to recover from the near-stunning blow to her face to see what had happened, but the boy in question had transferred to another school once he had got out of hospital.

Taylor's voice, although younger, had sounded just the same at that time.

.

Sophia struggled as the twig-who-had-somehow- _triggered_ pinned her against the wall. To her left, Emma had turned white and a sudden sound of liquid hitting the ground showed that perhaps she hadn't been as strong as Sophia had thought.

Normally, Sophia would have simply slid out of her hoody, but Twiggy's fist was pressing against her ribs, pinning her in position and making it hard to breath.

No problem, a couple of strong kicks and she'd be…

**CLANG!**

"Ow" Sophia yelped as the impact jarred her leg. Obviously, the bitch was more than just metal- _looking_. She should have worked that out earlier, given the locker door.

Plan B, then.

Reaching into one of the pouches on her belt normally hidden by her loose top, Sophia pulled out a capuscin spray and pointed it at Taylor's eyes.

"Fuck you, Hebert!"

.

Madison scrambled backwards as her two allies were slammed into the wall, then her nose crinkled as a small stream of liquid ran down Emma's leg.

Maybe it was time to take over as the Queen of Winslow, if Emma was that easily broken.

A clang caught Madison's attention, then Emma fell to the ground as Taylor switched her grip from Emma's blouse to the small container that Sophia was holding. Sophia screamed a curse, then she just screamed as Taylor's hand tightened, the sound of broken bones echoing down the corridor. An instant later, Sophia vanished into a dark cloud that re-formed into the track star, leaving everyone gaping.

Sophia was actually Shadow Stalker?

And how was Taylor Hebert so fucking hot? It was like she was a female Weld or something…

.

"Hess is Shadow Stalker?"

Sophia cursed under her breath as she looked round almost frantically. There were over two dozen students watching and over half of them already had their phones out…

Fuck!

Fighting down the pain of her shattered hand, Sophia fumbled for her phone, backing away from the advancing bitch that had just tried to cripple her. Finding it, she hit the power button three times as fast as she could, then raised it to her ear.

" **You are** _ **Shadow Stalker**_ **?"** The metal bitch growled, her hands forming into fists. **"You are a** _ **hero**_ **?"**

" _Console."_ The voice at the other end said.

"Hess, Beta-eleven!" Sophia snapped, keeping a wary eye on her suddenly-dangerous target. "New parahuman, hostile! Villain! Changer, metal skin! Has outed me publicly! Send reinforcements!"

" _On the way!"_ The voice at the other end said and Hess bit back a triumphant grin. Now all she had to do was survive long enough to see Hebert taken down and then come up with a sob-story about how Taylor had been stalking her or something.

That bitch would soon be enjoying a vacation in the Birdcage if she had anything to do with it!

.

" _Velocity, head to Winslow High immediately. Shadow Stalker has been outed by a Parahuman with metal skin. Intercept and detain."_

"Copy, Console. On the way."

.

I was _furious_! Sophia Hess, track star and Emma Barnes' best friend, was the Ward Shadow Stalker? A _fucking_ _Hero_ had been bullying me for close to _two years_?

I ignored whatever she was trying to say and stepped closer, then I grabbed her phone and _squeezed_.

Even as Sophia screamed in well-deserved pain, I felt… _something_ change… no. Not _change_ … something be _added_ to me.

Putting it to one side, I punched the nearest door off its hinges and used Sophia's cracked hand to pull her into the room. Using my other hand to grip her hoody again, I lifted her up, only for her to do her shadow-thing again and re-form in the corner, her useless hands pulled in against her chest.

" **Run all you want,** _ **Shadow Stalker**_ **."** I growled, enjoying the effect of my new voice on her. **"I'm going to enjo-gaaah!"**

.

Sophia fought down the waves of agony coruscating up her arms as she pressed herself into the corner. At Winslow, the walls were more than thin enough to phase through, but the ramshackle nature of the building meant that power lines often went diagonally or in areas that were normally clear, meaning that she couldn't just shift through without risk.

Of course, given what that bitch had done to the door, she'd probably just punch her way through and…

The red blur that suddenly appeared and hit Hebert in the stomach with a long pole was perhaps the most beautiful sight that Sophia had ever seen. The sound of metal clanging against metal served as a wonderful counterpoint to the sight of Velocity beating Hebert back like the animal that she was, with Hebert unable to fight back effectively against Velocity's superi…

What.

The.

FUCK?

.

The constant impacts weren't actually painful, but they were both very annoying and slightly disorienting. The jabs at my eyes did actually hurt a bit and I tried to blink my vision back into focus as I concentrated on defending my face from this new attacker.

The sight of Sophia smirking despite her crushed hands caused me to try and lunge at her, only to be forced back again by the pole-wielding blur and I…

…stepped _through_ him!

As Sophia gaped at me, I spun round and grabbed my attacker's head, feeling another odd tingle, then I threw him at the wall with all of my strength. As the debris from his passage settled over his now-motionless form, I remembered his name.

Velocity.

Huh.

Turning back, I found the corner empty.

Where had that bitch gone?

.

The roar of the two motorbikes entering through the gate was like music to Sophia's ears as she drifted down and re-formed on the tarmac.

"Hess." Armsmaster stated as he shut off his bike and dismounted. "Your family are being relocated to the Rig for safety. What is the situation?"

Before Sophia could answer, the third-floor wall exploded and a silver figure clad in torn scraps of fabric landed on the tarmac, leaving an impact crater. As it straightened, an explosion sounded and Hebert stumbled backwards before glaring at Miss Militia.

"That's Taylor Hebert!" Sophia gasped as she scurried round behind Armsmaster. "She's been stalking me for years, telling lies about me and my friends and now she's got powers, she publicly outed me!"

"I see." Armsmaster growled, unslinging his halberd. "Miss Hebert, you will surrender immediately or I will use force to ensure your capture."

Hebert growled and Armsmaster pointed his Halberd at her, nodding at Miss Militia as he did so. Her weapon changed into a net launcher and she pulled the trigger, firing the electrically-charged net at Hebert…  
…only for Hebert to blur to one side and come to a stop behind Miss Militia, grabbing her around the neck in a basic choke-hold.

What.

The.

**FUCK?**

.

"So." Director Piggot said coldly. "What do we have?"

"We have Miss Hebert's father, Danny Hebert, in protective custody." Armsmaster stated. "he is refusing to speak to us about his daughter. The Hess Family has been brought to the Rig and we are ready to initiate the relocation protocol. Panacea has healed Sophia Hess and Velocity."

"I still don't know why she didn't do more than just restrain me." Miss Militia noted.

"And… Taylor Hebert?"

"We lost her." Armsmaster admitted. "She managed to outpace us, achieving speeds of over seventy miles per hour. From the footage taken, it would seem that part of her powerset is similar to Velocity's. Velocity also reported that Hebert has the ability to become intangible."

"Sounds like a power-copying Trump." Piggot mused. "But… the metal-skin thing doesn't fit…"

"Miss Clements has accused Miss Hebert of stealing her prized possession, a lock of Weld's hair that Sophia managed to procure for her." Miss Militia offered after a moment.

"It _does_ fit." Piggot rubbed at her forehead. "Damn. So, we have a power-copying Trump on our hands, one who knows the identity of one of our Wards and has a history of irrational behavior… this is not good."

.

In his hidden base, Coil sat back in his chair after finishing reading the report that had been covertly copied for his attention.

_A power-copying Trump, hmmm? And one already branded a criminal… how useful. I'll have to make sure never to actually meet her, though, even in a throwaway timeline, just in case._

Picking up his phone, he tapped one of the numbers and then waited.

" _Yes, Boss?"_

"Tattletale, I have a potential recruit for your team."

" _Taylor Hebert?"_

Coil hid a frown. "Yes. How did you know?"

" _She's on PHO. Things are getting_ very _murky… Kaiser sent Hookwolf and Stormtiger to try and_ recruit _her. It didn't work."_

Coil ended the call wordlessly and opened a new tab on his computer.

.

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Topic: Smackdown!  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

 **Uber** (Original Poster)

Ladies and Gentlemen, my good friend L33T and I were out on the town when we met a _very_ interesting person having a bit of a disagreement. Now, L33t and I are both gentlemen, so we stepped in to see if we could help (didn't hurt that the babe was looking like the boss from Rise of the Robots!), only to see her take down Lung!

Oh, he got away (and so did we), but… here.

**[Link]**

Cool or what?

.

(Viewing page 1 of 215)

.

► **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Holy heck!

First, wow. Guys, you may think it's sad she turned you down, but given her powers…

That girl is Taylor Hebert, codenamed Silver. She is a Trump 8 according to my sources, she can copy powers by physical contact. The copy isn't quite the same as the original (intangibility from Shadow Stalker, speed boost from Velocity, non-absorbing metal skin from Weld… no word on just _how_ she got that one) but it's along the same theme. Rumor has it she copied Stormtiger and Hookwolf, so she's obviously got some big guns.

If you see her, run. Just run. That's the official advice.

Edit 1 - Power list (to be updated) –

Metal Skin (Weld) – Edit: Apparently completely metal, not just skin.  
Intangibility (Shadow Stalker)  
Speed (Velocity)  
Unknown (Miss Militia) – Edit: Ooooooooh shit!  
Unknown/Air (Stormtiger)  
Unknown/Shapeshift (Hookwolf)  
Unknown/Fire? (Lung)  
Unknown (Uber)  
Unknown/Tinker (Leet)

Edit 2 – Just re-watched it and uh-oh. She shook your hands before heading off? She's got both your powers now!


	14. Brockton Bay Purge - Worm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A one-shot where the QA Shard is massively overpowered.

Brockton Bay.

Oh, it's had it's ups and downs over the years. More down than up, come to think of it. At least until recently.

Oddly, Brockton Bay now has the lowest number of Parahumans per Capita in the entirety of the USA. In fact, it only has two Capes in it.

The first is Parian.

Very nice girl. I apologized to her for what I had inadvertently done and she forgave me.

Also gifted me a very nice dress for chasing the E88 away.

Very nice lady.

The second Cape?

Me.

As if you hadn't guessed by now.

This was not by my choice. I'd have been happy without my powers, save for the fact that getting my powers provided me with the answer to why my former best friend had turned on me. Turned out she'd been effectively brainwashed by a Cape, one who was a so-called hero.

But if I continue, too many people will be able to find out who I am, so I'll stop there.

My trigger event was messy, but I gained the power that has caused all the gangs and the PRT to vacate the city, as well as getting a kill-order on me if I ever try to leave.

Yeah, think about that for a moment. That's the same thing they have for Nilbog over in Ellisburg.

My rating? Trump 12. My power?

That's where it gets complicated.

You see, I can detect any Cape within a certain distance. Currently, I think it's about twenty miles or so, but no-one really wants to find out. I certainly don't.

So, I can locate any Cape within 20 or so miles of me. Yeah, that makes me a walking Cape-detector, thus a priority recruitment target, right?

Yeah, but my Power is more than that. You see, within ten or so miles, I can tell what a Cape is planning on doing. Oh, general things only, little more than impressions. You know, rob bank. Watch dogs fight. Laze around on a comfortable chair. That sort of thing.

Of course, things get interesting when the range drops to _five_ miles.

That's when I can see through their eyes. Hear through their ears. There are no secrets at that point. One glance in a mirror and I know their faces.

That's how I knew who the Cape was who led me to Trigger. I saw through her eyes.

I know, I know. Recon. That's what you think. I'm a walking Cape detector and a perfect undercover agent. I don't even need to be within line of sight to listen in tracelessly.

Let's cut the range in half again, shall we?

This is where my _special_ abilities kick in.

Duplication.

Any Cape within that range? I can use their powers myself, as many of them as I wish so long as they remain in range. I could go Shadow like Shadow Stalker. Stop time like Clockblocker. Go big like Lung (Did that once. No, you didn't see anything about it in the news, I'd borrowed Coil's power and was running it as an alernate timeline. Thank god for that, we wrecked three quarters of Brockton before I dropped the timeline. Coil's power is _Hax_!) or manifest weapons like Miss Militia.

So, that makes me Eidolon mark 2. Yes? No.

Cut the range in half again.

I get control of powers.

No, this isn't a repeat of what I said before. I get control of a Cape's powers.

As in I can activate or deactivate their power at will.

And control it.

Yep, I'm why no less than seven Capes, all villains, _accidentally_ outed themselves.

No, Hess _was_ a villain. She may have been part of the PRT, but she was a villain.

So, any Cape within a mile of me, I can shut down at will.

That came as one hell of a shock to Jack Slash, let me tell you. Watching him and the others squirm as my projection (Thanks, Dr. Manton, it was useful while it lasted) and Parian teamed up to tie them into bags for collection?

Yeah. I thought you might have heard about that.

So. The E88, after four of their members were outed, packed up and left. Turned out Kaiser was the CEO of Medhall.

Purity took her kids and went cross-country. She's rebranded as Lightbringer now. Good luck to her.

Coil fled as well. Shame, his time-split powers were useful. Kenta also vanished.

And the PRT?

Well, they also folded their tents and vanished into the night after their one attempt to recruit me.

Yeah. They pulled out all the stops, but it was a bad move. Vista's power? _So_ overpowered when linked to mine. I was able to use Legend's power to convince them to fall back. And Ashbeast's when they tried to Foam me. Then I found out a secret, one so big that Alexandria herself tried to take me down, only for me to shut her down as soon as she landed, which forced her to use her emergency escape plan.

Which was when I got my most useful ability.

It's a variant of teleportation, along with the ability to locate anything I want.

So, that means I could theoretically tap into any and all Capes at any time. Coupled with the Hess incident?

Right now, I'm _the_ Guardian Cape of Brockton Bay. It's _my_ fiefdom. I managed to shut down Butcher and maroon him in another world so he could not return. I pulled Canary out of the Birdcage after reviewing her case and got her a retrial where the _real_ story came out.

She was very grateful. Dedicated her first concert as a free woman to me.

And now?

Now… I seem to have gained the interest of the one Cape that I _can't_ affect.

Or detect by anything other than my non-Power senses.

Well, now you know why Scion keeps visiting Brockton Bay.

Or you would if I ever released this. Maybe I should…

Nah.

.

 _Audio file recovered from the private computer of Codename Panoptes after she vanished along with Scion in 2024. File transcribed by Dragon. File classified_ [Top Secret].


	15. Formic Friend - Worm & Ender's Game

I stood at the entrance to the world I had come from, my best friend by my side. I'm sure that anyone looking at us would have been taken aback by the contrast between us. Me, a rather skinny human whose only redeeming feature is my long hair and my… I guess that _friend_ would be the best way to describe what is between us.

It's deeper than that.

They call themselves the _Formics_. Well, they call themselves _the people_ , but everyone does. Formic is how they verbalize it, but they only rarely need to do so.

Yeah, they're telepaths. Well, more than that, actually. They're kinda a gestalt entity with their primary mental loci being their… _queens_ , for lack of a better description.

Yeah, I made friends with an entire species. Go me.

How did I get here? I blame Leet, or L33T as he calls himself. He and his idiot-in-crime Uber were doing something that led to one of Leet's inventions misfiring and briefly turning my locker into a portal. I ended up landing on one of the Formic Queens and my newly-gained power caught her attention.

By the time I woke up, they had used their hive-mind to go through mine. They knew everything I knew and while the idea of a non-Hive-mind race was quite a shock to them, they found it interesting. The whole thing about superpowers and Scion really caught their attention and they put their mind to work in re-opening the portal that had sent me to them.

Of course, they didn't ignore me during that time. It wasn't just my mind they examined and when I did wake up, they had managed to create food that I could eat along with pure water to drink.

Pure water tastes really odd. I'm not talking filtered water or purified water, this was _pure_ water.

They helped me to understand my powers very quickly and even duplicated it themselves, although their version, while longer-ranged than my sixty miles, is less encompassing. While I can control almost any non-sentient insect within my range, they're limited to those which are at least a tenth of the size of their smallest drone. On the other hand, their range is planetary. It does mean that they can _directly_ control their organic craft, though, rather than relying on control interfaces.

_[QUERY - JOURNEY - PREPAREDNESS]_

Oh yeah. They also tend to communicate in concepts rather than words. Takes some getting used to.

The large dome in front of me was grown by the Hive Queens and is one of the reasons they seem to think they owe me. You see, it connects all of the planets they have colonised by means of portals derived from the one that sent me here. The dome holds all the stuff needed to open and control the portals which are formed in the cave-like holes around the outside. This particular one, though, has more stuff surrounding it as unlike the other portals, it has to breach realities.

Nope, I don't understand it at all. The one time the Hive Queens tried to educate me on how it worked, I ended up with a crippling headache that lasted almost a week.

The portal is opening! I hope dad's alright, it's been over a month…

.

The alarm echoed through the rig and Director Piggot snatched up the phone.

"Report!"

"Parahuman attack at Winslow High School!" The agent on the other end of the line replied, his voice the calm flatness of one relying on training in the face of disaster. "The school is evacuating, witnesses are reporting large numbers of giant bugs."

Piggot paled. "How many and how large?"

"Unknown numbers at this time but almost human-sized." The response was almost immediate. He must have had the information already on the screen. "One witness reports claims that the first of the bugs emerged from… _the locker_."

Piggot felt her incipient headache try to increase. It _had_ to have been _the locker_. The one that imploded after that portal device Leet was testing exploded against it, taking the locker door and everything inside it _elsewhere_.

And that everything included one Taylor Hebert. A girl who had been bullied for over a year by the now-in-jail former-but-not-former-enough Probationary Ward, Shadow Stalker.

One who had been assumed dead.

The locker had been repaired and turned into a shrine, a plaque on it memorialising the deceased girl. But if giant bugs were emerging from it…

"Get everyone out of there and form a perimeter!" Piggot snapped. "Contact the Triumvirate, tell them we may have another Nilbog! Vector _every_ combat-capable Parahuman in and all of our forces."

"Armsmaster and Velocity already on the scene, ma'am. Velocity confirms bug count is growing, minimum one hundred already!"

"Sound the Endbringer sirens!" Piggot responded almost without hesitation. "Let's hope to hell that the villains join in before Brockton Bay becomes Ellisburg two-point-oh!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

.

.

I emerged from the portal, Queen Aurian beside me. While all Hive Queens were, by their nature, interchangeable, they had decided that having a specific one interacting with me would help me adjust quicker.

They had been right.

The corridor was slightly more dingy than I remembered it, although part of that may have been the drones spreading out to explore the area. Behind me, more drones continued to set in place the living technology that would stabilize the end of the Portal and allow them to move it. I somehow doubted that Winslow would be happy to house the Formic Embassy.

Moving into one of the classrooms, I looked out of the window and blinked at the sight of all the flashing lights.

_[QUERY – SITUATION]_

"I have no idea." I admitted as I leaned out of the window for a better look, almost absent-mindedly linking to the mental channel that Aurian offered to me, thus allowing me to perceive the area through the eyes and tympanal organs. Most of the views were of corridors and hastily-abandoned classrooms, then my attention was wrenched back by the sound of an Endbringer siren.

"Oh, this could be bad!" I muttered, closing my eyes to sink deeper into the links, then I saw a flash of movement and an instant later, a very familiar figure stepped in through the main doors, his weapon held defensively.

.

.

Armsmaster stepped forwards, ready to attack or retreat as needed, the camera in his helmet transmitting imagery back to the Rig where the PRT analysts were ready to do their jobs. A moment later, one of the giant bugs stepped into view and Armsmaster froze. The bug seemed to bow, then its mandibles opened.

" _Armzmazter?"_

Colin blinked, his mind briefly frozen in surprise, then racing to conclusions.

"Taylor Hebert?"

" _Yez and no. Thiz drone iz relaying my voize. How did you know it waz me?"_

"Educated guess." Colin replied, not lowering his guard. "Is this a bio-construct?"

" _No, it'z a Formic Drone. They're a Hive-mind entity from another reality and they want to open diplomatic relationz. I'm coming down now."_

Colin blinked again.

"You are?"

" _I am, along with Queen Aurian. She'z the one who'z letting me piggy-back onto the Hive-Mind zo that I can talk to you…"_

"But it's easier face-to-face." A human voice finished and Colin turned his attention to the new arrival. A quick check on the info-screen in his visor confirmed that the new arrival was Taylor Hebert as she matched her picture, but her clothing was obviously not that she had been wearing when she had vanished, being a pair of trousers and a wrapped top made out of what looked like thick spider-thread.

.

.

Oh my god, I was standing in the presence of _Armsmaster_! I used to have underwear marked with his helmet!

Way to focus, Hebert! Get yourself together.

A mental nudge from behind me helped me to regain my balance and I stepped aside, letting Aurian join me. As she stepped up, I saw Armsmaster tense up slightly, but he didn't attack.

"Armsmaster, this is Hive-Queen Aurian of the Formic Collective." I said almost formally, a sense of lunatic hilarity rising from within me.

" _Pleazed to meet you."_

"The honor is mine." Armsmaster said with a stiff bow, then he looked round as several other Drones ambled through, mapping out the school. "Um, can we take this elsewhere?"

" _We can."_ Aurian buzzed. _"The Portal is ztable and can now be moved. The Formic Collective greetz the humanz of Earth and azkz if we can zet up an Embazzy to aid in future interactionz."_

.

* * *

.

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.  
Topic: Bugs!  
In: Boards ► Events ► America ► Brockton Bay

.

 **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Original Poster)

Okay. Even by the standards of Brockton Bay, this is strange.

You remember a month and a half ago when L33T accidentally did that thing with the Portal Device which resulted in him and Uber relocating elsewhere in a real hurry? The one that led to Shadow Stalker being outed, her family put under witness protection and the Dark Bully put in jail?

Well, her victim, Taylor Hebert, is back.

And she's brought some friends.

[Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]

They call themselves the Formic Collective and they're a Hive Mind entity from another world.

whatisthisidon'teven…

.

(Viewing page 1 of 215)

.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Holy crap! Giant Bugs from Outer Space! Way cool!

Also, first!

.

► **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

Void, it's _not_ cool! They're giant bugs! BUGS!

.  
 **StaysOutOfTheWay**

Are they? I mean, they're from another world. They may look like bugs, but I doubt they have much in common other than their appearance.

.  
 **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Good point. Apparently they've let one of their Drones be examined. The Formic are warm-blooded.

.  
 **SingsInTheShower**

The Hive-Mind thing interests me. How much of a Hive-Mind? Are the Formic actually one being in many bodies or is it more like being constantly on the radio?

.  
 **PRTAgent** (Official PRT Agent)

Official statement from the PRT.

The Formic Collective has set up an Embassy near the Docks and is petitioning for recognition as an extra-reality nation state.

Their first Ambassador is Taylor Hebert.

Statement ends.

.  
 **WeAreOne** (Verified Alien)

Greetings non-Hive-Mind beings. I/We look forwards to learning from you.

.  
 **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

…wat.

.  
 **AllSeeingEye**

Holy… I think that was real!

.  
 **ImpossibleCat** (Smiles At You)

You have _got_ to be kidding me!

You are kidding, right?

.  
Page [1, 2, 3… 9, 10, 11]

.  
 **SpecificProtagonist**

No, I'm not shipping them. It. Whatever. Case 53's are human, even though they're changed. The Formic's… aren't.

.  
 **WalksOnTheSidewalk**

Thank god for that.

Hey, I just saw a Formic craft (at least, I assume that it was a Formic craft, looked kinda organic) fly past. Do you think we could trade for their flying tech?

I want a jetpack!

.  
 **Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know)

Negotiations for technology are apparently already underway.


	16. A New Legionary - Worm & The Last Legionary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worm/Last Legionary crossover. Wildbow owns Worm while Douglass Hill owns the Last Legionary series.  
> In The Last Legionary series, human warrior Kiell Randor was aided by the flying, telepathic batlike alien Glr as he sought to take down the mysterious enemy who had killed his homeworld.  
> This oneshot is based on the concept that Glr had a child who also wanted to be an explorer…

Winslow loomed up ahead of me and I sighed as I prepared myself for another round of ignoring the Trio. Their leader had once been my friend, now she was my worst enemy, while the one she had chosen to replace me as best friend was an arrogant moron who thought ferocity was a substitute for skill.

_*Uncle Randor would have been able to take her down one-handed and blindfolded*_

Despite the day looming ahead of me, I smiled slightly at Mrr's comment. He had been born and raised in another reality where humanity had spread to the stars, although he was not human himself. His mother, Glr, had bonded to the last member of one such group and helped him avenge his planet before taking him to her homeworld and from there, on several voyages of exploration before she mated with the researcher/doctor Zrk and hatched several children. Mrr had inherited his mother's love of exploration and when he was old enough, he had accepted a copy of his adoptive-uncle's memories and headed out in his own spaceship to explore, only to encounter _something_ (he still wasn't certain what) and crash-land… just where a girl attending camp could find him trying to fix his broken wing.

Mrr had bonded with me and given me several parts of Randor's memories on how to mentally communicate better and then, when _She_ had betrayed me, Mrr had moved his ship nearby and began tutoring me in the exercises used by Randor when he was young.

I actually had abs now!

I had also practiced some of the self-defense moves that Randor had ingrained into his own reflexes. While I would never match the sheer strength that he possessed at his peak, Mrr noted that I could probably be capable of moving even faster if I trained hard enough.

Good thing too, given one of the Trio was a Cape.

Mrr was the one who had discovered it. He had noted that Sophia's mind _felt_ different in a way he couldn't describe, but it was when he had a near-miss with Glory Girl that he realized what it meant.

Of course, that left the issue of which cape she was. Somehow, I couldn't see her being the dress-designer and fabric-manipulator Parian while the thought of her being Rune was laughable. Black girl in the E88? No chance.

The possibility that she was Shadow Stalker was one I prayed was not true. If the Protectorate was willing to declare that someone like _her_ was a hero… yeah.

Using my Mrr-granted skills, I slipped through the heaving crowds and made my way to the locker, my nose wrinkling slightly as I approached it. The Janitors had obviously been slacking off over the holidays and… wait.

A flash of movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention and I used another of the tricks that Randor had come up with and Mrr had passed to me to get a better look without seeming to. Emma and Madison were further down the hall, moving in a way that was guaranteed to get my attention while Sophia…

…was moving up behind me.

And as I got closer to my locker, the smell was getting stronger.

_*Taylor, are you alright? You feel like something's about to happen*_

I reached up and tapped my Mrr-upgraded glasses to activate the recording function even as I sent my own thoughts back. _#I think that I'm going to need your help, dear one. I'm sending images now… can you record?#_

 _*Already on it.*_ Mrr sent back along with a slight image of a cat failing to make a jump from a kitchen counter to the table. Yeah, Mrr _loves_ cat clips. He spends _hours_ watching them on the internet, squeaking with laughter. _*Give them hell*_

Reaching my locker, I took half a second to collect myself, using the mental tricks Mrr had taught me to ensure that whatever the Trio had done to my locker, I would remain calm, then I used my key to open the lock (I had paid for the new lock to replace the dial, but it still hadn't kept them out) and opened the door.

The stench rolled out in a near solid wave and I felt nauseous despite my best efforts, but then I _felt_ movement behind me. Taking a half-step sideways and turning, I grabbed Sophia's hand as she tried to push me into the waste-filled locker and moved my hand _just so_ , twisting her wrist in a way that turned her attempted push into an oddly-graceful dive that ended with her buried head-first in whatever that stinky stuff was, buried up to her elbows.

"Sophia!" Emma screamed as she charged forwards and I ducked under her pitiful attempt of a slap, then I reached up and grabbed her ear, turning to flip her over my shoulder so that she landed on Sophia, driving her back down into the waste. Emma gasped for air, then turned green and began throwing up as the stench got to her.

My reflexes (thanks, Randor!) caused me to step sideways as the third girl stumbled past, one fist outstretched in a punch that, had I not dodged, would have taken me in the kidneys and my foot tapped the back of her knee, sending her toppling on top of Emma and driving Sophia even deeper into the muck.

Glorious.

I took a step away from the stinking trio and was just about to turn when Emma and Madison suddenly dropped and a black shape with the hint of an internal skeleton rose through them, reforming into a furious Sophia who was pulling out a knife as she glared at me, all rationality abandoned in favor of pure homicidal fury.

 _#Mrr, put it online! Now!#_ I sent as I jumped back, avoiding a slash that would have caused me to spill my guts.

Literally.

She lunged forwards again, screaming incoherently and I ducked under her slash, rolling past her in a way that let me slam my heel into her face. The feeling of my foot passing through her changer state was odd, but it didn't slow me down as I rolled to my feet and used the remaining momentum to sprint towards the window at the end of the hallway, grabbing Emma's bag as I passed it. Spinning, I hurled the bag through the window, shattering the glass, then I dived out between the shards, tucking myself into a ball briefly to get me into the right position to land in a momentum-shedding roll.

Not even glancing back at the broken second-floor window, I loped off, rubbing my slightly bruised hip.

_#Mrr?#_

_*Ship is cloaked and I'm coming to pick you up*_

As I went round the corner, I looked up to see Sophia, Emma and Madison at the window, all glaring at me.

 _#Mrr, tell me that you managed to hack into the phone network? Sophia's Shadow Stalker… I think that I need to alert dad and get him into hiding_ fast _#_

.

"…and in breaking news today, Shadow Stalker of the Brockton Bay Wards publicly outed herself when she tried to kill a fellow pupil. Videos of the attack and the events leading up to it are already circulating on the Internet and it is almost certain that Brockton Bay's Dark Avenger is not going to remain in the ranks of the Heroic Capes for much longer. The PRT has already relocated her family and our sources indicate that the teleporting cape Strider was tasked in moving them elsewhere to start new lives, probably under new names. What does this mean for the Protectorate? Martin?"

"Thank you, Sandra. Yes, this story is probably one of the worst setbacks from a public relations viewpoint that the PRT has suffered in years, even worse than the Flameshield Shotacon Scandal. Ever since they fielded Shadow Stalker, the PRT have been promoting her as a reformed vigilante and proof that even a shaky start does not disqualify one from the ranks of the heroes, but this attack on an innocent girl coupled with the documents that have been leaked onto the net has shattered that image and shown that the PRT is willing to sacrifice innocents in order to keep their pet psychopaths happy…"

The screen flicked off and Emily Piggot glared at the assembled group sat around the long table. Closest to her were the various department heads and their deputies as well as the agent applied to keep Shadow Stalker under control, a woman who was looking as if she wished she could join the Hess family in Alaska. The Capes were next and she had already stripped Armsmaster of the position of Wards Leader and informed him that she had arranged for him to be reassigned to the other side of the country. At the end were the Wards, most of whom were looking sickened but unsurprised.

"Kaiser has already released a statement saying that the PRT have failed in protecting the innocent and that the E88 will take over, as their so-called honor and duty demand." Emily snapped, causing several winces around the table. "Lung has also gone public, announcing that he is happy that we have finally revealed the truth, that we are a criminal gang like the others, just one cloaked in the law. Needless to say, I am very not happy with this, although I won't be able to vent my frustration since today is my last day. You may know Mr Calvert from the occasions where you have worked with him, his commission in the PRT has been reactivated and he will be taking my place. I would wish you all good luck, but I am too angry to do so.  
"However, I am very pleased to announce to you all that Agent Simmons over there is also on her last day and officers are waiting outside this room to arrest her. I _will_ be testifying against you, agent. Count on it. When Hess is also tracked down and arrested, I will be making a point of attending _her_ trial too."  
"Wards, write up _everything_ you know about Hess and give ti to Battery as she is your new overseer. Miss Militia, you are taking over as leader of the local Protectorate capes unless Mr Calvert decides otherwise. I have already put a call out for reinforcements, but given past experience… I can only hope that Calvert manages to do what I could not.  
"That is all. Dismissed. Armsmaster, get packing. Strider will be here in two hours to get us out of this hellhole."

.

"We need to move! Now!"

Brian Laborne paused mid-punch and looked round to see Lisa frantically throwing the remaining money from the stash they had liberated from the Merchants into a bag.

"What's going on?" Alec yawned from his settee.

"Our boss is about to use us to secure his position by killing us off!" Lisa snapped and Brian spun away from the training dummy.

"What?"

"Coil!" Lisa finished stuffing the money into the bag and zipped it up before throwing it at Brian, who caught it reflexively. "I managed to figure out _who_ he is, he's the new damned director of the PRT!"

"Calvert?" Brian blinked. "You sure?"

Lisa nodded as she pulled a drawer out of the cupboard, turning it over to reveal a couple of hard-disk-drives taped to the underneath. "Yeah, he's been using us to get the other gangs heated up, but now that he's become the Director, he's going to need a victory quickly to show he's good for the job and guess who the closest villains that he _knows_ of are?"

Brian blanched. "Aisha…"

"We'll grab her on the way through." Lisa finished pocketing the drives and looked round. "Shit, no telling what stuff he helped us get has been bugged… Alec, you'll need to lose the computer. Get Rachel and tell her we're about to move out. There's a vacant warehouse in the docks that I managed to purchase last week using money Calvert didn't know I had… there's enough room for her dogs there. Move!"

Brian and Alec both moved.

.

"Huh."

 _*Taylor, I think he's broken.*_ Mrr sounded worried and I grinned.

"Nah, he's always like this when he has to readjust his thinking. Give him a few more minutes and he'll recover.

"Huh." Dad repeated, then he shook his head. "Wow. Explains a lot. Alien. Alien tech… wait. _Emma_?"

"You saw the video, dad." I sighed, looking down at my hands which were doing isometrics. "She, Madison and Hess were trying to pick on me since I got back from camp. It's almost a good thing that they did, I hate to think what would have happened if Hess had learned about Mrr and if Emma had learned of him, she would have told."

"Dammit." Dad's comment seemed almost calm, but I could hear the faint echoes of the rage that he had to be feeling. "I… _was_ friends with her father."

"The PRT will be looking for me." I noted. "I mean, I did cause Hess to be outed."

"We still have lawyers on the Dockworkers books." Dad noted. "I think we can deal with it. In the meantime, though…"

I exchanged a glance with Mrr as Dad looked around the maintenance room of Mrr's starship.

"…this _isn't_ Tinkertech, right?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Taylor, think you can teach a few of my boys how to fight like that Legionary you mentioned? And Mrr, can I hire you to use this ship of yours to move something? There's a tanker I'd really like to see elsewhere…"

.

"…and finally, the villains Skidmark and Squealer were handed over to the PRT today by the private security company Legion of Moros. Comprised mainly of former Dockworkers, the Legions, who wear sky-blue uniforms and special identity medallions which even Tinkertech has failed to duplicate so far, are currently providing protection to the Docks and the surrounding areas."

Director Calvert managed not to swear as the picture behind the newsreader changed from the symbol of the LoM (some sort of mutant bat in flight) to a picture of the two villains, trussed and gagged, being delivered into the custody of a team led by Miss Militia. The assembled Legionaries were mainly adult males, but the younger members were recognizable even despite the visors that covered the upper halves of their faces. At the front was the girl whose actions had catapulted him into his position, Taylor Hebert while she was flanked by a smirking Lisa Wilburn and a stoic Brian Laborn.

So that was where they had gone.

Good thing that he had arranged for Kaiser's true identity to be leaked before he had decided to sacrifice his pet villains.

"In related news, the case against former Supervillain Rachel Lindt, also called Hellhound, has been quashed on the basis of falsified testimony and malfeasance on the part of the original investigators. Miss Lindt refused to comment, but the Legion of Moros said in a statement that Miss Lindt was relieved to have the false charges that forced her into her former lifestyle removed and she is looking forwards to a career in training dogs for the rescue services and law enforcement agencies…"

The screen flicked off and Calvert looked round at the assembled group sat around the long table. Closest to him were the various department heads and their deputies. The Capes were next with Miss Militia sitting stiffly at attention, alert and ready to offer her opinion if asked. At the end were the Wards.

"Before we begin the meeting, may I introduce you all to our newest Ward, Potentia." Calvert smiled at the youngest girl, who was looking round nervously despite Missy's attempts to covertly reassure her. "Potentia has the ability to see the future in percentages, so no-one is to ask any number or probability-based questions in her presence without authorization. We do not wish to risk hurting her through over-using her power. Potentia, welcome to the Wards. I hope you enjoy being here."

Dina Alcott gave a shaky smile. "Thank you…"

"Moving on." Calvert looked at Battery. "How are relations with New Wave going?"

"Very well." Battery said, not even needing to glance at her notes. "Glory Girl, Laserdream and Shielder have all volunteered to share patrols with the Wards. Having extra fliers helps improve strategic and tactical planning considerably. Although they have no interest in actually joining the Wards at this time, simply having them trained in the same tactics that we use has the potential to reduce the potential for errors in the field…"

Coil steepled his fingers as he listened to Battery's report.

The Empire would topple with another good push, the Merchants were collapsing and the ABB were concentrating on the Legion, meaning that he could take his time neutralizing the other threats first.

Yes, things were going very well indeed.

Now, if only his spies could locate the Tinker supplying the Legion with their low-profile armor and energy weapons…


	17. A Demon And An Angel - Worm

Trigger events.

For most people, a Trigger Event is the worst day of their life. The sheer shittiness of their existence temporarily overwhelms them and if they are very, very lucky, they get a power out of it.

Some powers are at first glance almost useless, like that of Le Caffinateur, a hydrokinetic who can only control a half-pint at most and only within the range of about two meters. He managed to get work with Coca Cola, doing advertising for them. You've seen the advert where a bottle of coke gets knocked over and lands perfectly in a glass three stories below? Yep, that was his doing. No CGI needed.

Other powers are just so broken that it isn't funny. The Siberian with her total invincibility. Eidolon who can use any three powers at the same time. Alexandria, who is the namesake of an entire subset of powers.

Most, however, fall between the two.

And some are so quirky that they defy normal classification.

Like mine.

Who am I?

I am Nephalem. I am the newest member of New Wave. A Healer and a Warrior.

And although I enjoy my life and the fame it brings me, I find myself missing the days when I was simply Taylor Hebert.

.

_*Wake up, Taylor!*_

I groaned as I levered myself out of bed, opening one eye to glare at the overly-cheerful voice. On the bedside table, a small winged haloed mini-me smiled back, glowing in the morning dawn, uncaring that she was naked.

Of course, given that her anatomy was somewhat akin to a Barbie Doll, it's not like it matters.

"Okay, Sera, I'm awake." I yawned.

 _~Have a lie in. It's not like education is important now you have powers.~_ A second voice scoffed and a second mini-me stood up before lounging against the alarm clock, her batlike wings furled like a cape while her spearheaded tail twitched in a manner reminiscent of a cat.

"Education is important, Luci."I countered, causing the red-skinned demoness to snort in disbelief.

_*Taylor is right, the more she learns, the better she can help others.*_

_~Why? No-one helped her for years. Better she take what she can now that she's feared.~_

"Enough!" I commanded and both beings turned to stare at me "Seraphim, Lucifer, while I will listen to you, _I_ am the one that decides."

Sera nodded calmly while Luci stomped off, her hooves leaving small, burnt marks on the table.

"…Sera?"

Flapping her wings (although she really didn't need them), Sera flew up and landed on my shoulder, then we _merged_. I _reached_ out with my power and the table reverted back to how it should be, the scorch marks vanishing as if they had never been.

 _~OW! OW! OW!~_ Luci hopped up and down before leaping onto my bed, where she rubbed at her hooves. _~That really hurts!~_

"Then don't try to damage my things." I stated as Sera split from me.

_~Meany.~_

"I learned from an expert." I smirked at her as I gathered my running clothes.

.

* * *

.

Arcadia looks quite nice from above, unlike the cesspit that is Winslow. I swooped down, feeling the wind against my leathery wings and as the ground leaped up towards me, I did a perfect roll-and-backwing, dropping into a perfect three-point landing. As I straightened up, Luci re-emerged while Sera took position over my right shoulder.

 _*You know that I can help you fly here just as fast.*_ She pointed out, sounding almost petulant.

"Sera, I can't just use your power all the time, it wouldn't be fair." I pointed out quietly and Sera sighed in resigned acceptance while Luci smirked before posing as several of the other students pointed cameras at us.

"Taylor!"

I smiled up at two of my team-mates as they came in to land. As always, Amy was in Victoria's arms, although since the day I had accidentally cured Flashbang's depression, Brandish's paranoia and whatever mental issue Amy had been afflicted with (which she _still_ refused to tell anyone about) while using Sera's _aura of healing_ to fix Amy's stubbed toe, the Dallons had gone out of their way to make me and dad welcome.

And Vicky had started paying a great deal of attention to reining in her aura.

Now, Amy caught me in a hug that threatened to break my ribs while Vicky simply smiled.

_*Amy, you do know Taylor needs to breath, right?"_

_~Oh, loosen up a little. Hey, Taylor, while she's wrapped around you, why not take advantage and grab yourself some of that georgeo…~_

Before Luci could finish that sentence, I had grabbed her and shoved her into my schoolbag while Amy had backed away slightly, blushing.

_~…that wasn't nice.~_

"Weren't you telling me this morning that I shouldn't be as nice as I am?"

_~…touche.~_

"And that is why I love being around you." Vicky chuckled. "You're so much fun."

"Vicky!" Amy protested on my behalf as Sera shook with silent laughter.

The little traitor.

.

* * *

.

Film Evening was something that still brought back bittersweet memories, but at least now they lacked the power that they once had. As the film reached its climax on the large television, I reached round Amy for a handful of popcorn while on the other sofa, Vicky and her on-off-and-on-again-boyfriend Dean snuggled in a way that somehow radiated that although they wanted to do more, they were sticking to the limits that her parents had set.

"That was a great film." Vicky noted as the credits started to roll. "I can't believe that I've never seen it before."

"Inconceivable!" Dean joked, earning an exasperated swat from Vicky.

"You keep using that word." I grinned as Amy groaned and tried to bury her head in my ribs. "I do not think it means what you think it means."

Dean burst out laughing as Vicky shook her head. "Oh god, you two are almost as bad as Dennis, I swear."

Dean pulled Vicky into a hug as I leaned back, resting one arm over Amy's shoulders.

"So, how are things in the Wards?" I asked curiously.

"Now that Sophia's been transferred to LA where Alexandria's keeping an eye on her, things are getting better." Dean shifted Vicky into a slightly more comfortable position. "We've got a new member called Browbeat and he's not just _in_ the Brute Squad…"

"He _is_ the Brute Squad." I joined in, recognizing the setup line. "Big muscles?"

"Self-biokinesis." Dean supplied, causing Amy to pop up from where she was snuggling against me. "Thought that would get your attention, Ames. Yes, I'll arrange for a meet-and-greet. It might be a good idea for you to learn his biology in advance, just in case."

Amy nodded, then relaxed against me again and Vicky giggled, then copied her sister in snuggling against Dean.

"How was the film?" A voice asked from the door and, being careful not to dislodge Amy, who was so relaxed that I was almost sure that she was asleep, I craned my head to look at Mark Dallon who was clad in his New Wave outfit.

"Hi, Dad." Vicky waved with her free hand. "What's up?"

.

* * *

.

"Why are we here again?" I asked, looking round the Mall and trying to ignore the glances being sent my way. Beside me, Amy was in her Panacea outfit and both of my power-avatars were floating above my shoulders, each at their full four inches.

" _Someone_ has to carry the New Wave flag at times like this." Amy responded as if she hadn't said similar things three times already. "Vicky, Laserdream and Shielder are at the Boardwalk event, mum and dad are patrolling along with Lady Photon and Manpower, so that just leaves us to cover the Ward event."

I nodded with a sigh. "I guess you're right and…"

With a shocking suddenness, one of the storefronts exploded outwards and two armored figures stepped out.

"On the ground, Covenant scum!" One of them shouted and I could _feel_ Amy's exasperation.

"Oh hell, it's Uber and Leet."

"Get to cover and start healing whoever you can." I prompted as Luci started to chuckle evilly.

"Be careful." Amy stood on tiptoe and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek before dashing off. I blinked a few times, then refocused on the duo firing some sort of energy blasts into the air above the panicking crowd.

"Alright, Luci." I clenched my fists. "Let's give them hell!"

Luci _merged_ with me and as my batwings unfurled and my horns formed on my brow, I summoned banefire around my fists.

For those two, it was about to be…

[Game Over]

.

* * *

.

"Stalker!"

Sophia Hess cringed slightly as Alexandria's voice cracked through the cantina. Turning, she looked at the Heroine who had taken it upon herself to _reform_ her by means of combat practice that verged on no-holds-barred beatdowns, philosophy discussions that made her re-examine the very basis of her previous beliefs and a level of oversight which verged on the supernatural (how the hell did she keep showing up _just_ as she was about to ladle out some well-deserved vigilante justice?)

"…yes?" Sophia asked cautiously, looking for any sign that she might be in trouble.

"Something on the news you should see." Alexandria stated. "Brockton Bay. Legend forwarded it to me. Come on, main briefing room. Anyone else want to see it, they can."

The entire canteen emptied as Alexandria stalked towards the briefing room, Sophia skittering nervously behind her.

.

"…bullshit."

Sophia hadn't even been aware that it was she who had spoken at the sight of a winged-and-fiery Taylor Hebert bare-handedly thrashing the supervillain duo Uber and Leet, slamming them into the floor and off various fixtures like walls, pillars and the ceiling. By the time that Taylor had finished, both villains were lying on the ground in the few remaining shreds of their armor, surrounded by the burned and shredded remains of the tech that they had been using.

"She's good." Alexandria noted, turning up the volume.

"… _and in addition to her combat skills, Nephalem is also a healer."_ The reporter said excitedly as the image changed to show Panacea healing one of the injured civilians while Taylor, now boasting feathered wings and a halo, knelt by another person, focusing light from her hands over a rapidly-healing cut. _"Along with her girlfriend Panacea, the pair healed every single person injured by Uber and Leet's stunt before handing the villainous duo over to the authorities."_

"That is _such_ bullshit!" Sophia protested as on the screen, Taylor used her power to cause the broken glass of the shop front to fly back into position and fix itself.

"She's strong." Alexandria commented, apparently ignoring Sophia, although the younger girl knew better than to assume that Alexandria _wasn't_ noting every single move and expression she was making. "Physically _and_ morally. I honestly doubt that she could break."

Sophia looked away from the image of the person who had ruined her life.


	18. A Force For Vengeance - Worm & Star Wars

The thing I miss most of all is my hair.

Well, that's not actually true. My dad tops the list, even though we've grown apart since mom died.

Being able to live in a proper house is also high up on that list, as is not being regarded as just a step below the Slaughterhouse Nine when it comes to the Public Enemy lists.

Okay, so there's a lot that I miss more than my hair, but I'd been really proud of it.

Now though, I have these… two _things_. They're like tails or tentacles, I can move them, they're really sensitive (I can detect air currents with them so well that I can actually navigate blindfolded if I need to!) while my ears are these odd cone-shaped things, but they're really sensitive. I can hear far more now than I used to be able to.

My eyes are also improved, not only do I no longer need glasses but I can detect things that most people would miss. I don't think it's just my eyes, though, I cometimes get flashes of what's about to happen, or feelings about what I need to do.

It's got me through several fights with those trying to catch me.

Oh! And I can also throw lightning!

Yeah, that's what got me listed as a villain. But really, surely the PRT should have been keeping an eye on Sophia Hess and stopped her from trying to drive me to suicide. Unmasking her by using my lightning (which I had no damned _idea_ I could do until I actually _did_ it) and causing her to try and use her powers to escape while everyone watched…

My life is really screwed up.

Oh well, at least I've finished building what my powers have been prompting me to build.

Now to get some more money. You'd think that living homeless and on the run like I am would mean that money would be useless, but you'd be wrong about that.

It's time to hit the ABB.

A quick leap from one roof to another, over the street, and now it's time to cut my way in and grab what I need.

Is it really stealing if it's from a criminal gang?

.

* * *

.

Jin sat in the corner, gun dangling in one hand and an unlit cigarette in his mouth as he idly paged through PHO on his smartphone. One thread caught his eye and he used his thumb to open it.

.

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_.  
_ _Topic: Red Devil Girl Ratings Update!  
In: Boards _ _Villains_ _America_ _Brockton Bay_

_._

► _**Bagrat**_ _(The Guy In The Know) (Original Poster)_

 _My contacts have given me this piece of footage_ [LINK] _which shows an attempt by Skidmark and Squealer a week or so ago to recruit Red Devil/Taylor Hebert._

 _For those of you not up to date on this, she was the girl who outed Shadow Stalker while trying to kill her in her civilian identity (thread_ here _). At the time, she was rated as Mover 2 / Brute 2 / Changer 1 / Blaster 2 due to her demonstrated powers and physical changes. However, a recent re-evaluation has been performed based on the recruitment attempt. Jump to 5:23 on the vid and turn the volume up._

_Looks like she has a Master rating as well._

_At least Canary had to_ sing _to use her power, Red Devil simply waves one hand!_

_._

_(Viewing page 3 of 74)_

_._

► _ **TheWalkingWatcher**_

_Did she just make him go home and rethink his life?_

_._

► _ **UsesASillyOnlineName**_

_Yes, yes she did. After telling him that he has no interest in recruiting her._

_Okay, that's at least a Master 2. If Skidmark goes straight, that'sgotta be a Master 4._

_Please let it only be a Master 2…_

_._

► _ **Specific Protagonist**_

_Those clothes she wears… what did she do? Raid a sex shop?_

_Loser!_

_._

► _ **AllSeeingEye**_

 _Um, guys? Check out_ this _thread. It looks like the Protectorate has gained several new members. Linekeeper, Journeywoman, Steampower… yeah._

_I'd say Master 4 confirmed._

_._

► _ **DoesntKnowWhatsHappening**_

_*Points at username._

_._

► _ **Bagrat**_ _(The Guy In The Know)_

_AllSeeingEye, good catch._

_Yeah, it would seem they_ did _go home and rethink their lives._

 _According to_ this _statement by the PRT, they're being relocated to California and have you_ seen _Journeywoman's new vehicle?_

[LINK]

 _Apparently that plane can hit Mach 7! I speak for everyone when I say_ thank god _she was limited by scrounging during her previous career…_

_._

► _ **XxxVoidCowboyxxX**_

_What about Red Devil? We're drifting, people._

_._

► _ **UsesASillyOnlineName**_

_Void's right (two words I never expected to write). Back to Red Devil._

_I wonder what that tube on her hip is? Some swort of collapsable staff?_

_._

► _ **XxxVoidCowboyxxX**_

_Considering that I doubt she has a boyfriend with her red-and-black-skin and head-tentacles, maybe it's a dildo holder?_

_**[BrocktonBayMod: Dammit, Void. Have a week away from the forums to learn to stop thinking with your groin.]** _

.

(Page 1, 2, 3, 4 …74

.

Smirking at the comment made by Brockton Bay's resident moron, it took Jin a couple of seconds to realize that the room was getting darker. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw a tendril of darkness moving to cover the window, then suddenly the ceiling above him was pierced by a glowing red blade that cut a circle and the world vanished in pain as the falling portion of the ceiling caught him on the temple.

.

* * *

.

The Undersiders were rather welcoming of me, although Bitch did try to set her dogs on me. It was then that I discovered my telekinetic powers as I pinned the dogs against the wall, along with their Master. After that, Rachel and I… well, I can't say we got on, but at least we didn't fight.

Alec was fascinated by my weapon and asked for an upgrade to his sceptre. After a few near-misses of my own as I practised using my blades, I adjusted the weapon I gave him so that instead of cutting, it delivered an electrical shock. I also put together several stun guns that could knock someone out at about a dozen meters or so and gave them to the others. Alec didn't get one as I'd put it into his new sceptre as an alternate mode.

Lisa was incredibly happy about having truly non-lethal weapons to work with, although apparently the guns can cause miscarriages in the first trimester of pregnancy. I have no idea how she deduced that.

After promising not to use my Master powers on them, Brian started to help me learn to fight properly. To show my appreciation, I made another weapon for him, a double-ended vibroblade (although each blade could be individually deployed). Alec wanted one too, but on Lisa's advice, I didn't give him one.

Boy, can he pout.

I also managed to contact dad. I used a burner phone in the Ship's Graveyard, then as soon as I was done, I dropped it and got into the back of the van that Brian had volunteered to drive for me.

Good thing too. As we headed back, Armsmaster zoomed by, heading for where I had been.

I also had a chance to refine my mobility, using parkour. Combined with my skills, wall-running and street-leaping are so much easier now.

I also noted how the PRT were making me out to be much more dangerous than I actually was.

We used this during our next job.

.

* * *

.

Amy Dallon sighed as she waited in line at the bank. While it was (not that she would admit it to anyone) a welcome change from the grind that was the local hospitals, simply standing in a queue while listening to a screeching lady yell about how she should have more money in her account had gone from amusing to irritating.

The sound of the door being slammed open combined with an odd _snap-hiss_ made her look round and her eyes widened as the new arrival swung what was obviously a weapon, bisecting the lamp by the door and causing the entire bank (even the banshee) to go silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please move over to the side and sit down." Red Devil said with the sort of politeness that generally covered immense rage and Amy found herself swept along in the rush to the wall. Red Devil strolled over to the counters and swung her glowing blade again, carving out a large hole.

"If you'll join them." She prompted to the cashiers and the two women in question slowly edged through the newly-made gap. "Thank you."

Amy stared at the red-and-black-skinned teenager as she slowly paced back and forth, the odd red blade thrumming. Silently, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and, pausing just long enough to lower the volume to zero, she typed and sent a quick message.

"You can blame Sophia Hess for this." Red Devil continued and Amy frowned slightly in confusion. "If she hadn't bullied me for two years and tried to kill me, I wouldn't be like this now. Of course, now she has to live out on the Rig and her family has been sent away into hiding, I like to think I've made at least a down-payment on what she owes me, but she's still a Ward. Still a so-called hero and that just pisses me off. So, you're going to help me make a statement of just how pathetic the so-called heroes are."

Everyone was so busy concentrating on the blade-wielding girl that they failed to notice the door to the offices closing, the doorjamb and hinges covered with darkness that prevented any sound from carrying to where they were sat.

.

"Grue?"

Grue looked round from where he had just cut down the last camera. "Coming, Tats."

Tattletale motioned to the vault door, then returned her attention to the picture being relayed from the cameras on the bank floor. "Looks like it's working, no-one seems to have worked out that she's just a distraction."

"And what a distraction she is." Regent snarked as he finished moving the stunned bank manager back into his office. "Tats, I'll be a moment, it looks like he's got some interesting porn on his computer I want to download."

"See if he's got any interesting documents in his desk while you're there." Tattletale said as she unsheathed a small dagger and moved to the safe set into the wall. Flicking a switch on the hilt, she used the suddenly-blurred blade to cut open the door and look inside. "Ooh, lots of backup hard drives. I'll take these."

.

"Red Devil, you won't get…" Amy began, only for the girl to make a pinching motion. Amy felt her throat tighten and her eyes opened in panic.

_She's not Manton limited!_

"That's _Darth Vindicta_ to you." The girl growled, her yellow eyes narrowing as she released Amy from the telekinetic stranglehold. "If you don't know your languages, it's a statement of what I have left. Vengeance on those who have wronged me."

_She's gone mad!_

Vindicta paused, then looked towards the front of the bank with a slightly disturbing grin.

"It would seem that the so-called heroes have arrived. Well, it would be churlish to not say hello to them. Be good little hostages and stay here."

Amy stared as Vindicta briefly adjusted something on her weapon, then walked out of the door with barely a care in the world. As soon as the door swung shut behind her, one of the bank employees scampered to the staff door, then she stepped back in confusion.

"It's locked!"

"Of all the times for the Manager to pay attention to what's going on." The other employee sighed.

"Is anyone injured?" Amy asked.

.

Sophia didn't hesitate. As soon as their target came through the doors, she raised her crossbow and fired, aiming for the bitch's head. To her shock, the arrow halted halfway to the target and the red-skinned whore looked up with a smile that Sophia had only seen before in a mirror.

" _There_ you are."

Taylor made a fist and suddenly Sophia found herself jerked off the rooftop. Turning into her shadow-state, she started to float down when a bolt of lightning lanced through her, forcing her back into her solid form. The street below raced up and suddenly all she could feel was pain as her legs shattered.

As her vision greyed out, she saw Taylor use her glowing blade to deflect a laser blast from Kid Win, hitting Browbeat in his shoulder.

.

* * *

.

"She said her name was _Darth Vindictus_." Amy said as she finished reattaching Browbeat's arm, then moved on to healing the ugly burn mark that marred Aegis' face.

"Dark Vengeance." Clockblocker mused, earning several surprised looks. "What? I've got hidden depths, you know."

"Cooler name than _Shadow Stalker_." Vista sneered as Sophia tried to stand on her newly-healed legs.

"Shut up, twerp." Sophia snarled at the young Ward. "Why didn't you stop that bitch escaping."

"Because someone knocked me out from behind while you were too busy getting your ass handed to you in one move." Vista shot back.

"Sounds like she has a minion." Kid Win mused, glancing at the bank where several people were gesticulating wildly. "I wonder what's going on?"

As if in answer to his question, a police officer emerged from the bank and hurried over.

"Did you see who robbed the bank?" He asked and the Wards all gaped at him.

.

"Over three million in cash and the financial records for almost half the businesses in Brockton Bay _plus_ enough to let me hack into several of the multinationals." Lisa smirked as she handed me a drink. "Taylor, you were _amazing_!"

"Best distraction ever!" Alec agreed.

"Thanks for taking down Vista." I replied, accepting a large mug of coffee from Brian. "It would have been hard to escape had she not been dealt with."

"No problem." Alec smirked. "I wonder if we can get away with doing it again?"

.

* * *

.

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._

_.  
_ _Topic: Red Devil Girl Ratings Update!  
In: Boards _ _Villains_ _America_ _Brockton Bay_

_._

_(Viewing page 178 of 183)_

.

► _ **UsesASillyOnlineName**_

 _Do we know who she teamed up with? Perhaps someone from what remains of the Merchants. If she can_ persuade _Skidmark and Squealer to go straight and become heroes, she could have easily brainwashed some of his former followers._

_._

► _ **MysteriousCat**_

 _Her name is incredibly ominous. I mean,_ Dark Vengeance _? And her telekinesis is_ not _Manton Limited, unlike Rune. She just_ yanked _Stalker from the roof and zapped her on the way down!_

_._

► _ **LikesApples**_

_I was in the bank when she walked in and took us all hostage. She told us that it was Stalker who forced her to gain powers after bullying her for two years. I don't know if it's true or not, but she seemed to go out of her way to hurt Stalker._

_Can anyone confirm her claims?_

_._

► _ **SpecificProtagonist**_

_I go to the school that Hebert went to and she was known as a fantasist with delusions of persecution. Ignore everythig that that bitch says._

_._

► _ **AWardTriggeredMe**_

… _Interestingly, Hess had two helpers. They know who they are._

_So do I._

_._

► _ **BrocktonBayMod**_

_AWardTriggeredMe – Revealing the names of anyone who isn't already publicly identified is against the rules of this board._

_Don't even think of doing so._

_._

► _ **AWardTriggeredMe**_

_BrocktonBayMod – As you wish. I fully intend to take it up offline anyway._

_._

Madison Clements stared in horrified shock at the post, then the door swung open, a _snap-hiss_ noise dragging her attention away from the screen.

"Hello, Mads." Darth Vindicta smirked from the doorway. "I believe that you have something you wish to tell me."

Madison felt her trousers dampen as Vindicta stepped forwards.

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

_Darth Vindicta/Taylor Hebert_

The name stood out, almost as if it was hovering above the otherwise-blank whiteboard, then Miss Militia started writing underneath it.

 _Mover 3 – Enhanced agility, boosted jumping, wall jumping (self-telekinesis?)  
_ _Brute 2 – Enhanced strength (telekinesis?)  
_ _Changer 1 – Red/black skin (tribal tattoo appearance – full body?), Changed head, (form lock?)  
_ _Blaster 2 – Electrical attack (Short-mid ranged, directed)  
_ _Master 4 – Confirmed personality-change powers (target willpower dependent?)  
_ _Shaker 2 – Telekinesis (NOT Manton-limited)_

"So." Emily Piggot stated as she looked down the length of the table to the blackboard. "Those are her current ratings as far as we can determine. Any comments?"

Dennis slowly raised one hand. "Erm, where's Sophia? Shouldn't she be here?"

"Sophia has _finally_ been reassigned." Emily ground out and Vista fist-pumped before catching herself. "Vista, normally I would scold you for that, but in this case, I find myself in agreement. Shadow Stalker has been nothing but a problem for us, a problem who has created an even larger problem which has created a larger one yet. With the Merchants no longer able to hold their own using those tinker-tech monstrosities, the ABB and the E88 are grabbing territory as fast as they can. I fully expect to see full-scale fights by this time next week."

The mood around the table sobered quickly.

"However, that can wait." Emily continued, glaring at the whiteboard again. "Vista, did you see who knocked you out at the bank?"

The young Ward shook her head. "No, there was just this… _sound_ , then I was waking up to see Panacea kneeling over me."

"Describe the sound."

"It was… a musical _peeowww_? I can't really describe it any further."

Emily nodded, then turned to the armor-clad man. "Armsmaster, your report on the bank?"

"The CCTV systems were deactivated and the storage drives removed." Armsmaster stated calmly. "However, the off-site storage was not affected and analysis of the images suggests strongly that Grue of the Undersiders was involved. Although there is no footage of him, the way that the cameras seemed to malfunction before their destruction matches with what we know about his power, albeit showing a higher degree of control than I had previously been aware of.  
"The cameras were cut with what I believe to be a vibrational blade utilizing micro-vibrations to increase its cutting abilities immensely. I am already planning to incorporate that concept into my next Halberd, it is a fascinating concept and can be implemented without reliance on Tinker-tech."

"Focus!" Emily barked as Miss Militia added another line to the board.

_Tinker 2 – Energy-blade weapon (Vibration-blade weapons?)_

Armsmaster twitched very slightly. "My apologies. Moving on. The main vault was opened with the same blade which was used on the cameras, but the safe in the Manager's office was opened with a smaller blade. This implies that more than one member of the Undersiders were involved since Grue would not have needed to use a second such weapon to replicate his feat at the main vault.  
"Assuming that this is the case, I believe that Darth Vindicta is either allied with or has taken control of the Undersiders. It is quite probable that she provided them with the blades used, indicating that it is more likely to be an alliance than a takeover.  
"Analysis of the marks left in the road after the Wards were defeated indicates that the energy-blade that Darth Vindicta uses could have cut through the vault door with ease. However, she chose to leave the actual raiding of the bank to the Undersiders while she acted as a distraction, a role which she managed to fulful with an incredibly high degree of success."

"We didn't even know that it was more than a simple hostage situation until she walked out and Sophia tried to kill her." Dean admitted. "After she took Sophia down, we tried to capture her, but…"

"She spanked us like we were babies." Dennis muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear while Browbeat rubbed at his shoulder and Kid Win looked both embarrassed and guilty.

"Not how I'd have phrased it, but yes." Dean agreed. "Of us all, I'd say Dennis was the only one of us who could have stopped her, a fact which she was unfortunately well aware of."

"Those walls _hurt_." Dennis grumbled.

"Replaying the footage that Kid Win caught, she changed the settings on her weapon at least twice." Dean continued. "If she hadn't, at least three of us would be dead by now and I'm including Glory Girl in that. Vindicta's electricity took down her personal shield _just_ long enough for Vindicta to hit her with that blade on stun... and I can't believe I just used that phrase."

"When our fearless leader saw his girlfriend getting apparently stabbed in the heart, he went berserk." Kid Win added.

"I lasted three seconds." Dean looked ashamed. "And two of those was me simply getting close enough to her that she could take me down."

"I could keep her away from me, but… I got hit from behind." Vista added, looking annoyed. "She outfought, out-thought and out-maneuvered us. And made it look easy."

"I've already ordered the Wards to fall back and call for reinforcements if they encounter her again." Deputy Director Renick added and Emily nodded in unwilling approval.

.

"She has potential." Kaiser mused as he looked at the picture of _Darth Vindicta_ frozen mid-spin, almost seeming to vault over her blade as she used one hand to telekinetically throw a rock atClockblocker while Kid Win's laser cannon fired a blast that she was deflecting. On the other side of the screen was a picture of Taylor Hebert before her transformation, one taken from a copy of the most recent Winslow Yearbook and enlarged.

"Shame about her appearance." Victor mused. "As she is now, she would not fit in very well with us."

"Where else can she go?" Kaiser asked almost rhetorically. "The Dragon of Kyushu would not accept her for she is not and has never been of oriental heritage. The Merchants are gone, their few Capes fled and their grounds ours to claim for the worthy. The Protectorate has cast her in the role of villain even though it was one of their own who drove her to where she is now. She cannot be a Rogue like Parian, so what else is there for her?"

"Her coloration could be a problem." Hookwolf pointed out and Kaiser shrugged.

"While we stand in the light, proud and strong, we still have need for the blades in the shadow. While you fill that role to a degree, Hookwolf, there are times when a more… _subtle_ approach is needed. If we can capture her, she can be _trained_ to become our silent blade. Her agility and ability to blend into the shadows would allow us to quietly remove those who stand in our way."

Kaiser looked round, using his experience to see who agreed with him, who disagreed and who was still undecided.

On this subject at least, it would seem that he had no need to push further.

.

* * *

.

Control.

The concept was an old, familiar one to me. As a child, I had always kept my room fairly tidy. In fact, compared to how Emma had used to keep hers, mine had been immaculate.

I had control of my environment.

It was one reason why Emma turning against me had been such an issue for me. She had turned against me, did not listen to me any more.

She had cut the strings I had used to direct her and tied herself to another.

Now, though, she could harm me no longer. With the e-mails that Madison had printed out for me, the text messages she had uploaded at my insistence, my new ally Lisa and I had been able to work out Emma's new password.

I knew how her mind worked. How it could be directed.

I had copied all of her e-mails. Those she had received and those she had sent. The ones where she had gloated about seperating herself from a weakling like me…

She still didn't understand. There were many types of strength. Moral, intellectual, physical, emotional… and the strongest were those that had self-control.

The familiar anger rose, but I refused to let it consume me. Instead, I rode it, tamed it. Forced it to my will and bent it to my command.

Control. Start by controling oneself. One should always be in command of oneself. Control your emotions, do not let them overwhelm you. Direct them, hone them.

Control your mind. Control your body. Once you have that control, expand it outwards. Your belongings. How others see you.

Control is the key. It is the start and the end.

And when I chose to exert myself, I would be able to re-establish control over Emma once more.

Opening my eyes, I found the Undersiders all staring at me. The shock was enough that I fell, my reflexes _just_ managing to let me land on my feet.

"…you can levitate?" Alec asked, a cocky smirk on his face. "Cool!"

Walking over to my boots, I started to pull them on, using the zips hidden in the seams to close them around my legs. Adjusting the left one slightly so that the protective pad aligned properly with my knee, I reached out and _pulled_ my blade to me, clipping it onto my belt.

"So, what's the job?" I asked Lisa and she gave me a smug smile.

"You'll like this one. We've been asked to crash a public-relations event that Armsmaster is attending."

I returned her smug smile with a predatorial one.

At last. A chance to strike back once more at the people who had torn me away from my father.

.

' _Well, now I know that there is truth in that old saying. Never ask what could possibly go wrong'_ Colin Wallis mused to himself as he tried to keep an eye on Hookwolf, Cricket and Stormtiger at the same time. The three capes had been disguised as wait-staff and several of the other servers had disguised themselves with masks or scarfs tied around their faces. The makeup Cricket had applied to cover her scars had also served to disguise her, as had whatever Hookwolf had done to hide his tattoos. However, Stormtiger hadn't bothered to disguise himself other than a pair of glasses and Armsmaster's on-board face-recognition software had pinged him. Colin's reflexive grab for his stowed halberd had alerted the E88 members that their cover had been blown, leading to this standoff and hostage…

Colin's thoughts were interrupted as a high window shattered. Everyone looked up as the dark object unfolded in mid-air to reveal itself to be Taylor Hebert in her usual boots, loincloth and corset outfit along with a cloak that flared dramatically behind her as she landed lightly, energy blade already extending from the projection tube in her hand.

"This is a… what the hell?" Hebert straightened up and glared at Hookwolf. "What the _fuck_ are the E88 doing here?"

For a long moment, no-one moved, then Taylor glanced sideways. "Dad?"

"Taylor." Danny Hebert looked somewhere between elated to see his daughter and saddened by her actions.

"There he is!" Hookwolf pointed at Danny. "That's him! Grab him and let's get out of here!"

"Hell, no!" Taylor leapt forwards as Cricket stepped towards Danny and brought her blade round in an arc that Cricket blocked with one kama.

"Upgrades." Hookwolf gloated. "Storm, grab her pops. If she wants him back, she's going to have to toe the line."

Stormtiger nodded and walked past Taylor, only to fall to the ground screaming as a _second_ blade suddenly snapped into life from the projection tube, severing his spine.

'Two _blades? One from each end? Hmmm, I wonder if I can do something like that for my Halberd. It would certainly help with balance in combat…'_

Hookwolf's skin seemed to erupt in metal as he lunged towards Taylor.

"Die, bitch! I'll kill you _and_ your father!"

Taylor's response was an outstretched hand which unleashed a blast of electricity.

.

"… _and our main story of the day, a clash between villains. Two members of the E88 are in hospital and one is deceased after they tried to kill Darth Vindicta, an independent villain. Stormtiger is currently in a state described as serious but stable while Cricket lost both her legs and her left arm to Darth Vindicta's blades. The third cape, Hookwolf, was killed using what witnesses describe as the same sort of lightning attack which incapacitated Shadow Stalker, only stronger…"_

I finally managed to pry Rachel Lindt off me, although I knew that if I dropped my guard, she would hug me again.

"While that wasn't the sort of distraction we hoped you were going to perform, it worked perfectly." Lisa noted from where she was typing on her new laptop computer. "We got into and out of the Mayor's office without any problems and managed to plant the bugs as well as download copies of all his records."

I nodded and turned back to my trophy, the shaft of Armsmaster's halberd. I had pulled out all of the tech that he had incorporated in it and the three handle sections, made of an alloy which managed to resist even my own blade (although the joint between shaft and head hadn't been anywhere nearly as strong) had potential for use as components for a new weapon (or three).

It was a pity that they were _just_ too narrow to use as casings for weapons such as my own lightsaber, but maybe I could replace the crystal-based blade projector with a smaller one that used a filament to carry the blade energy?

I glanced at Lisa and _knew_ that she had followed my thoughts.

I nodded. Once I had built two of them, I would give her one of them to use.

Her grin widened and I knew that I had earned… not her obedience, but her loyalty.

Unlike Emma, Lisa would not betray me.

Now what to do with the third (and longest) section?

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

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._

_.  
_ _Topic: Vindicta Avenged?  
In: Boards _ _Villains_ _America_ _Brockton Bay_

_._

► _**JustANerd**_ _(Original Poster)_

 _I was up early this morning, turned on the news and saw_ _this_ _story. The PRT were covering up Hess' activities and were willing to let her kill Vindicta!_

_Seriously! WTF PRT? You let your so-called Reformed Vigilante continue to maim and try to kill without doing anything about it? And when she caused Vindicta to trigger, your response was to try and cast the Victim into the role of a Villain (which she seems to have accepted worryingly well)?_

_Okay, let's do a headcount here._

_Shadow Stalker (aka Edgy Edgyface McEdgelord) – at least one confirmed kill (unpowered victim), multiple counts of serious injury and maiming (at least 14 before being taken into the Wards, based on police reports), engaging in a bullying campaign lasting almost two years and ending with an attempted murder… angry, verbally abusive and prone to swearing…_

_Darth Vindicta (aka Evil is SEXY) – One confirmed kill (Hookwolf – E88), two counts of serious injury (Cricket and Stormtiger – E88), four confirmed recruits for the PRT (Linekeeper, Journeywoman, Steampower, Stonewalker), tazing Shadow Stalker… generally rather polite, even when being scary…_

_Why the hell was Stalker even ALLOWED to become a hero?_

_And why was Vindicta forced to be a villain?_

_I hope to hell that whoever let that situation occur has been punished._

_We don't need so-called heroes like that here._

_._

_(Viewing page 7 of 52)_

_._

► _**UsesASillyOnlineName**_

_The PRT seem to be keeping suspiciously quiet about this. Anyone else catch that "We have no comment at this time" of theirs? What are they hiding?_

_How much did they know?_

_._

► _**XxVoidCowboyxX**_

_Hess was one of the three who caused DV to trigger. The other two still go to Winslow, although they seem to have split._

_._

► _**BulliedByAWard**_

_So, the truth is coming out. Let's have a little more truth, shall we?_

_I have set up several copies of a certain person's e-mail archives. I've already given links to some of the copies to certain individuals, but for those of you who are interested, the link to one of the archives is_ _here_ _, at least until the mods get through the protections I've put up and break the link._

_I am sure you'll find it… enlightening._

_And JustANerd… thanks for the compliment, but now Regent's making jokes about it._

_._

► _**XxVoidCowboyxX**_

_Already looked through the e-mails (DV, thanks for the preview and once again, I'm really sorry for the Dildo crack). Even from the first quick look, EB is a total bitch in serious need of therapy._

_._

► _**Bagrat**_ _(The Guy In The Know)_

… _what? Void is saying that someone else needs serious therapy? Holy… this EB person must be so far round the bend that they couldn't reach it with a boomerang!_

_[Edit] Damn, Void. That's way more mature than I've ever seen from you before. Keep up the good work._

_[Edit 2] Just skimmed the archive. Holy crap, if this stuff hasn't been faked, then… damn…_

_._

► _**XxVoidCowboyxX**_

_Normally, I'd be very angry, but I've been reading a lot of self-help books recently. I'm not normal. I'm big enough to admit that. But EB? Totally broken._

_._

► _**TheWhiteWalker**_

_Someone I respect has looked at the e-mails. He's a skilled psychologist and he agrees that EB is seriously broken._

_._

► _**CladInSteel**_

_It would seem that the PRT has indeed screwed up by the numbers. Instead of protecting the innocent, they instead set a sociopath loose upon the public, hiding her crimes so that none could hold them to account._

_Incompetence like this has to reach right to the top. Piggot has to go._

_._

► _**Clockblocker**_ _(Verified Cape) (ENE Wards)_

_Clad, that is so not cool. As soon as the Director found out what Shadow Skulker had been up to, she yanked the bitch out of the Wards and Brockton Bay._

_._

► _**CladInSteel**_

_Ah, so Piggot's well-known hatred of capes prevented her from looking closely in the first place, hmmm?_

_._

_(Viewing page 8 of 52)_

_._

► _**Clockblocker**_ _(Verified Cape) (ENE Wards)_

_What? No, that's not what I said!_

_._

► _**ManOfManySkills**_

_So, how much of what she did were you aware of?_

_._

► _**Clockblocker**_ _(Verified Cape) (ENE Wards)_

_None of us knew anything until the whole Bank thing brought it out and even then… look, she didn't socialize well with us, okay?_

_._

► _**Vista**_ _(Verified Cape) (ENE Wards)_

_Clock's right. Stalker was a total bitch, always trying to pick on me. When she got pulled out, I was glad._

_._

► _**ManOfManySkills**_

_And all this didn't raise the warning flags? Whoever was in charge of Stalker needs to be gone fast, lest they end up turning all of you into villains too…_

_._

► _**SnakesAreCool**_

_Whoah there. You can't accuse a whole organisation of being corrupt just because they completely failed to turn a murderous anti-hero into an actual agent of law enforcement._

_Never ascribe to corruption that which can be explained by other means._

_._

► _**ManOfManySkills**_

_Such as incompetence or bigotry?_

_._

► _**SnakesAreCool**_

… _maybe I used the wrong argument there…_

_._

Thomas Calvert smirked as the online forum grew even more heated, then he paused as a door opened in the solid wall and a familiar woman stepped out.

"Contessa."

"Calvert." The visitor replied. "Cauldron is willing to not only cancel the remaining favors you owe us but also see to it that you are placed into command of the local PRT as you have requested. For a price."

"And the price would be?" Calvert asked carefully in one reality while in the other he stroked his chin thoughtfully, obviously playing for time as he considered things.

"The price is the pre-cog you have taken." Contessa said in the timeline where Calvert _hadn't_ spoken. "We have already _acquired_ her parents and we will grant you two questions a day from her."

"Are there any other options available to me?" Calvert asked carefully as he looked at the card she had flipped onto his desk in _both_ timelines.

"We have already taken her." Contessa replied in the _first_ timeline, causing Calvert to break out in a cold sweat. "You have no option but to enjoy the power you have sought. Door!"

Contessa stepped back through the door that had appeared behind her and Coil dropped the second timeline with a muttered curse, then his phone rang, the ID showing that it was the doctor he had placed in charge of controlling the young girl.

"Dammit." He growled as he hit the button to answer "She's gone, hasn't she?"

The shocked silence at the other end eloquently told him all that he needed to know.

.

.

The abandoned warehouse complex that the Undersiders used as their base was perfect for my needs. It was close enough to the Docks that I was able to visit the rusting hulks at night, stripping the usable hull plates from them and transporting them back under cover of darkness. Finding several submerged containers of solar panels and other tech was a stroke of luck and helped me immensely with my project.

Although most of the Merchant's bases had been raided, it turned out that the renamed Journeywoman hadn't been able to remember two of her workshops thanks to her former drug habit and so with Brian's help, I had raided them before anyone else could. While most of what I recovered was junk, it was junk that I could adapt to new uses.

A very specific new use.

When Alec realized what I was doing, he offered to help. Although he started out merely adequate, he soon became very adept at working with electronics. Brian was good at building as well and the plumbing was soon in place, followed soon after by several other systems that we didn't need yet, but if we did, it would be very important.

Even Lisa helped out, finding the pieces of tinker-modified windscreen that wouldn't break without warning for use in my creation, then checking our work for any flaws.

There were surprisingly few.

Things became easier when Rachel came up with a suggestion that I hadn't considered. Rather than build certain portions from the ground up, Brian purchased a couple of second-hand caravans and we simply transferred the interiors across, linking up the plumbing and electricals.

Once that was done, we all transferred across and used the old base as storage and a pen for Rachel's dogs. With them not getting underfoot, we were able to finish even faster, giving us a fallback position that we didn't have before.

And it was a good thing that we did, since less than a week after we had effectively finished, everything changed.

Director Piggot and her deputy Renick both resigned, and the person appointed to take over was…

.

"Fuck!" Lisa gasped as she stared in horror at the television screen set into the bulkhead.

"You know that guy?" Alec glanced across from the corner where he was playing on his console.

"Fuck, yeah!" Lisa rubbed her head slightly. "Thomas Calvert, CEO of Fortress Construction… well, _former_ CEO now… and the Supervillain known as Coil!"

"…what."

Brian's flat comment sounded from the main ramp. "Coil… as in…?"

"The one who's paying us." Lisa confirmed. " _Double_ fuck! _Overseeing the stability of_ … ooooooh SHIT!"

"And for those of us who can't pull facts from nowhere?" Alec paused his game.

"He's about to make a move… one that we won't like!" Lisa jumped to her feet. "Dammit! He intends to have us all _killed while resisting arrest_ to prove he's better than Piggot ever was!"

"That sucks." Alec noted as he saved his game and switched the console off. "Plans?"

"Get Rachel and her dogs in here _now_!" Lisa pointed at Alec, who grumbled as he slouched towards the ramp. "Brian, Coil knows about your sister, we'll need to grab her on the way out. Phone her! Get her onto a rooftop and tell us where she is!"

Brian nodded even as he pulled his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Vindicta, we need to get ready for a _fast_ departure!"

As if to emphasize her statement, a distant explosion sounded.

"Cockpit! Now!" I ordered Lisa and she seemed to vanish as I ran towards the ramp, sidestepping the trio of dogs that boiled up it with Rachel and Alec in hot pursuit. Hitting the ramp button to close it, I didn't wait to see it fully close but turned to head to the cockpit where Lisa was undoubtedly bringing the power systems to full.

This was going to be close.

"Alec, upper! Brian, lower! Rachel, get the dogs into their pens!" I shouted over my shouler as I exited the main cargo hold.

.

The charges detonated, blasting a hole through the wall and a pair of flash-bang grenades were hurled through the resulting dust-cloud to disorient anyone on the other side. As soon as the grenades stopped illuminating the dust, the armed unit piled through, guns ready to fire.

"Entry, clear!"

"Unit one, upstairs! Unit two, spread out and check the other rooms. Unit three, backstop. Outside units, prepare for escape attempt!"

With the skill of long practise, the armed units split to perform their assigned tasks, but one of them paused.

"Anyone else hear that noise? Kind of… like a turbine?"

"I hear it too." It's coming from… over there? Behind that bookcase?"

.

"What's going on over there?" Glory Girl muttered to herself as she watched the PRT armed units surround and enter a warehouse complex. "It looks like they're… SHIT!"

Glory Girl flinched back despite herself as part of the roof exploded outwards.

.

"Engaging lift units…" I pushed a lever and felt the ship seem to curtsy as it lifted, then I looked up at the roof, supported by the cantilevered beams that stretched across.

Beams that now had explosives attached to them in carefully-chosen places.

"Shields on." Lisa reported as she flipped a couple of switches. "Shields stabilized… cloak?"

"No." I grinned almost ferally as I raised the nose of the ship. "Let's let them see us leave despite all that they can do. Just get ready to drop the belly shields when we pick up what'shername…"

"Aisha."

"Quite." I nodded. "Alright… trigger the charges!"

The roof vanished in a cloud of burning debris and I slammed the throttle forwards while kicking the lift unit to maximum.

.

The wall of the warehouse seemed to fragment as something on the other side blasted into it. The fragments, ranging from pebble-sized to one bit almost a meter across, scythed across the warehouse, picking up the attackers and slamming them into the wall hard enough that although their body armor kept them alive, several would need Panacea's help before they could even think about returning to duty.

.

Calvert bit back a curse as he watched the carefully-planned raid collapse into ruin in both timelines.

He had split the timeline and sent the first one in half a minute before the second so that he would be able to direct them around any traps that the Undersiders could have thrown together, but he had never expected…

Wait.

What was _that_?

.

Glory Girl knew that she was gaping, but she couldn't help it as what looked like a prop from a Flash Gordon film rocketed past her. The ship was almost a hundred meters long and was shaped almost like an angular teardrop that was flying point first, albeit one that was somewhat flattened and had a notch taken out of the front. On the side closest to her was a pair of tubes on a mounting that screamed _guns_ to her and she rapidly retreated.

While handheld guns fired slowly enough that she would not be worried, vehicle-mounted weapons were another matter entirely.

Glory Girl watched as the craft zoomed off, rolling slightly so that it could fire a warning shot at the news helicopters trying to close in.

A shot that looked almost exactly like that Tinker Blaster that L33T had used on several occasions before it had exploded.

"What the _fuck_?"

.

Aisha grumbled as she closed the flat door, making sure that it was locked, then started pulling her bulging bag to the stairwell. With another mutter about how stupid big brothers would vanish for ages and then screw things up, Aisha started to drag the bag up the concrete stairs.

As she reached the top landing and the door leading to the roof, she heard shouting from below, as well as the sound of running feet. Half-turning, she peered over the railing and her eyes widened at the sight of dozens of armoured gloves and the occasional rifle barrel making their way up the stairs.

"Oh shit!" She whispered. "He was right!"

Moving away from the banister so that she would not be spotted, Aisha quietly eased the door open and slipped through, closing it just as quietly, then grabbing a piece of broken tile from the pile of rubbish in the corner, jamming it under the door to try and block it.

"Where are you, bro?" She whispered as a couple of loud _crack_ s sounded from several floors below.

Keeping an eye on the door, Aisha started to retreat to the far side of the roof, then shook her head.

"Idiot." She cursed herself. "Do that and they'll see you. _Above_ the door. That's where to go."

Her mind made up, Aisha dragged her bag round to the rear of the roof access point, where the sloping roof met the asphalt surface.

.

"Over there!" Lisa pointed and Vindicta nodded.

"I see her. Clever girl."

Lisa spared her ally a quick glance before nodding in agreement. Several troopers were on the roof, another three of them checking out the fire escapes, but none of them had actually spotted Aisha, who was lying as flat as she could on the small flat roof above the door, obviously praying that she could evade detection.

"Who does she know?" Vindicta asked. "Just Brian?"

"Unfortunately, yeah." Lisa sighed.

"Can you fly in close?"

"Obviously… why?"

"Go over high and I'll provide a distraction, then go low enough that Brian can pull her in. I'll jump back afterwards. Oh, and activate the cameras for this."

"We have _cameras_?"

.

"So. What happened with the girl?" PRT ENE Director Thomas Calvert asked in an extremely calm tone.

"My troopers were searching the roof for the target when they were attacked by Darth Vindicta." The Squad Leader reported. "She used telekinesis and her lightblade-thing to stun my men while Grue retrieved the target. Once the target was aboard their flying vehicle, Darth Vindicta disengaged and jumped over ten meters up. While the vehicle then began retreating north, it activated an invisibility device. We do not know where it is now."

"Very well. Your men did the best they could in the face of unanticipated opposition." Thomas said soothingly. "Were any of them injured?"

"One twisted ankle, sir. Nothing serious."

"Very good." Calvert leaned back, thinking hard.

While he wanted revenge, he had to project an image of being above suspicion.

But if he released a few names, then several people would go looking for their lost children… and Coil would be watching from the shadows…

.

"The bastard outed us." Lisa growled as she looked up from the laptop that she was using. "All of us… and the implication is that we kidnapped Aisha."

"Hell, if this is kidnapping, I want _more_!" Aisha said around a spoonful of ice cream that her brother had given to her.

"…and the Police are after us for child abduction, my parents have filed an injunction for my return… those bastards… and Heartbreaker's vanished again."

"Crap." Regent noted. "Any ideas?"

Lisa smirked. "Oh yes. We can't really go silent, too many people looking for us, so let's go _big_!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I want in!" Aisha giggled.

.

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._

_.  
_ _Topic: New Team For Hire!  
In: Boards _ _Rogues_ _America_ _Brockton Bay_

_._

► _**AllSeeingEye**_ _(Original Poster) (Unverified Cape)_

_Well, it's been a real kerfuffle in old Brockton Bay with us Undersiders all outed and forced to flee as the PRT came after us with itchy trigger fingers. But hey, every cloud has a silver lining and since Coil outed us (yep, I'm a former Undersider, you'll find out who soon), we decided to make the best of it._

_After a long talk, we decided to follow Darth Vindicta (Taylor Hebert). She never wanted to be a villain, but was forced into becoming one after she was triggered by Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes and Madison Clements._

_Grue (Brian Laborn) is our planner and organizer, as well as our stealth expert and negotiator. Rachel Lindt is our tracker and with her dogs, our heavy hitter. Regent (Jean-Paul Vasil) has taken to his role as team Sniper with rather worrying eagerness. He's actually said that he'll happily take a pay cut if we let him headshot his dear ol' pappy and we've said we'll see what we can do._

_So, yep, I'm Tatletale. Sarah Livsey aka Lisa Wilbourn. My parents want me back so that they can use me to play the stock market again. Sorry mom and dad, but the answer is nope. Not going to happen._

_Finally we have our team mascot, Aisha Laborn. No powers, but she's studying for her GED under her big brother's watchful eye._

_Since we've broken away from Coil but refuse to trust the PRT (as several of us have been screwed by them… Alec/Regent still hasn't forgiven Hess for trying to kill Brian and making him bleed over the couch), we're going independent._

_If you have a problem and no-one else can solve it, then contact us_ _here_ _and you can hire…_

_The Shadowed Blades!_

_Blame Aisha for the name. She won the dice roll._

_._

Calvert leaned back in his chair and frowned.

Lisa had sent a little message to his _other_ e-mail account, confirming that she knew who he was, but wouldn't reveal it so long as he left her alone. She had also pointed out that she had set up several deadman drops that would automatically release the information should she die, which he found rather ironic given his own plans for the E88 and the ABB.

He had no choice.

He would leave them be.

For now…

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

The Captain's Seat of the _Fury_ was very comfortable and one of my favorite places to relax, surrounded by the consoles that allowed me to see at a glance if there were any issues I needed to address.

Should I decide I needed privacy, the doorway to my right led to a curved corridor from which I could stroll through the small ships armory and into my personal quarters. Going to the end of the corridor would lead me to what my friends had stared to call the Living Hall. Boasting a kitchen area and a games setup lovingly installed by Alec, it was the preferred place for most of my allies to congregate, save for Rachel, who had laid claim to the storage bay on the port side of the ship, stating that she needed it for her dogs, a claim which we all agreed with.

Glancing to my left, I looked out of the cockpit and through the window set into the inner side of the forwards port wing that let me see Rachel sat on a bench, tending to one of her dogs.

A glance in the other direction would have let me see part of my personal cabin through the porthole that let me see who was on the bridge without having to leave my room.

An odd noise knocked me out of my thoughts and I glanced at the arm-mounted repeaters on my chair. All the readings indicated that the _Fury_ was working as well as expected, then the knocking sound repeated. Turning my attention to the windscreen, I paused in shock.

Whatever I had expected, it wasn't to be graced by the presence of Legend himself.

Moving to the pilots station, I over-rode the autopilot, resetting it to hover, a safe enough option given we were above the altitude that civilian airliners used. As I felt the engines reduce power, I looked at Legend, then motioned for him to head to the back of the ship where the boarding ramp was.

.

"Math _sucks_." Aisha moaned as I walked through the Hall. "Vindicta, please tell Brian I don't need maths?"

"If you cannot do mathematics, there is no way I would trust you to fly the _Fury_." I shot back, smirking as Aisha stuck her tongue out at me. Alec chuckled from where he was playing a first-person-shooter while Brian was busy in the corner, carefully working on one of the hover-bikes I had been in the middle of building before we had been forced to vacate our previous base.

Lisa glanced up from the laptop she was working on, then her eyes widened. Closing her computer, she got up and scurried to my side, reaching me as I stepped into the ramp room. As the door hissed closed behind us, she grabbed tightly onto a handhold as I pressed the button to open the ramp, the air whistling out as the pressure dropped.

As the ramp slid down, Legend floated in and I hit the button to close it once more. Lisa swallowed several times as the air pressure (and temperature) returned to what they had been.

"Legend." I said as neutrally as possible.

"Darth Vindicta." Legend smiled at me. "Tattletale. Do I have permission to come aboard?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Is Alexandria coming too?"

"I don't believe so." Legend shrugged and Lisa flicked her fingers covertly in the sign we had arranged to indicate that whoever we were talking to was being truthful. "I must admit, this is a very impressive plane."

"We like it." I noted as I waved him through. "Guys, guest."

A loud clatter echoed through the Hall and I turned in time to see Aisha picking herself up from the floor, her mouth agape in shock. For a moment she simply stared, then she squeaked and ran to the bunk-room that she shared with Lisa.

Beside me, Lisa started snickering while Brian sighed and rose to his feet. Legend watched him approaching with interest, then Brian held out his hand.

"Legend, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Grue, and this is indeed a quite spectacular ship."

"Got you at last, Protomancer!" Alec shouted, punching the air in glee and we all stared at him for a moment.

"Dammit, Regent." Brian sighed.

"So." I reclaimed control of the situation. "Please have a seat and we can discuss why you have come to us, but first, do you want a cup of coffee?"

"And can I have your autograph?" Aisha asked as she popped up as if out of nowhere.

"In order, thank you, officially I'm not actually here, I'm fine and anything for a fan." Legend chuckled as he took the proffered notebook and pen from Aisha, who bounced up and down in glee.

.

.

"Heading for target… cloak stable." Lisa was all business as her fingers danced across the control panel. "Transport located… moving in. Matching speed and course in… three minutes."

"I'm headed up top." I rose from my seat. "Get ready with the code."

Lisa nodded and I turned, striding through the door and round to the main Hall. Moving to the bulkhead which separated the cockpit and the Hall, I clambered up the ladder and opened the hatch at the top, sliding it open.

The airflow was almost enough to rip me off the hull, but I used my telekinesis to secure myself as I braced my feet to either side of the hatch, looking up at the Dragon Transport that was, if Legend had been truthful, now running on autopilot with its sole occupant placed in a deep sleep via a tinkertech anesthetic.

An occupant who had been screwed over by the law even more than I had.

The belly of the transport suddenly opened, dropping an occupied chair out and I _reached_ out, pulling it to me even as Lisa brought the _Fury_ to a halt.

A brief moment of work with my boot-stowed vibroblade removed the restraints and the chair (with its tracking beacon) was thrown away while its former occupant slumped in my arms.

"I have her." I stated, knowing that Lisa would be receiving the signal from the radio integrated into my headgear. "Bringing her down."

.

.

" _And in breaking news, the singer Canary has been declared deceased after a technical fault caused the unmanned transport carrying her to begin her life sentence at the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center to eject her into Lake Superior at the America/Canada border. Officials have confirmed that the tracking Beacon in the bindings used to secure Paige Macabee have been traced to the deepest part of the lake.  
_ " _The trial of Paige Macabee has been described by many as one of the most unfair trials in recent history. Despite only being a Master-type cape, Miss Macabee was confined to Brute-six level restraints and a ball-gag during her entire trial…"_

I nodded to Lisa, who flicked the screen back to the gaming channel, then I gently pulled our newest member across to the table. As she sat down, I moved to the head of the table and looked at her.

"Lisa has already secured your accounts, moving your money so that you can use it once more, although we have subtracted a ten percent fee for services rendered."

Paige nodded, still looking rather shocked.

"You have several choices available to you." I nodded to Lisa, who pulled out a folder and slid it to Paige. The woman slowly opened it and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the identity papers in it. "Paige Macabee… _Canary_ , is officially deceased. Your ex is now having to answer questions about why he broke the restraining order you had on him. Within a week, we will be receiving a Tinker-medicine that changes the hair color of whoever takes it… I hope that you don't mind your hair turning black. Once done, you can start a new life.  
"Or you can join _us_."

Paige looked up at me, her eyes wide. "But… I'm a _Master 8_! I can't always control my power… What's this?"

Paige looked down at the box that Lisa had slid in front of her, then she reached out and slowly opened it.

"Dragon was intending to have you use that as a way of controlling your power." I stated as Paige lifted the tech-collar out of the box, staring at it with an expression of dawning hope. "An… _acquaintance_ managed to get it to us before we retrieved you. The disc at the front is both the controller and the display. Once you wear it, the disc will display a circle for when you can use your power and a cross when it is blocking it. Instead of using colors, which you won't be able to see when wearing it, the symbols bas-relief so you can feel which state it is in. To switch modes, press to either side of the disc."

Before I had finished talking, Paige had fastened the band around her neck and was stroking the disc.

"…thank you…"

Lisa gave me a significant _look_ and I knew that it would take only one more careful maneuver to secure our new recruit.

"Paige." I said quietly, leaning towards her as she looked at me, "Do you wish us to take you anywhere specific, or would you prefer to stay on board for a bit while you think things through?"

Her expression told me what she was going to choose even before she could open her mouth.

She was going to become one of mine.

.

.

"Dragon, I have some interesting news for you."

"What is it, Legend?"

"Darth Vindicta asked me to contact you about licensing her anti-grav technology. I have a sample here and it doesn't actually seem to be Tinkertech."

"That _is_ interesting."

"I took a couple of pictures, with their permission. I really like this one. It's their ship, the _Fury_."

"And is that the crew in front of it?"

"Well, Aisha is more sort of their mascot, given that she's the only one without powers. That's Aisha, standing beside Songbird."

"I… _thank you_ , Legend!"

"Any time, Dragon. I'll put the anti-grav unit to one side, ready for you to collect."

.

.

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._

_.  
_ _Topic: A New Blade  
In: Boards _► _Groups_ ► _America_ ► _Shadowed Blades_

_._

► _**WalksWithALimp**_ _(Original Poster)_

 _So, I was coming back from my lunch when_ _The Fury_ _lands outside Dick's Sporting Goods and let me tell you, that thing is_ huge _! It's a hundred meters long and almost as wide!_

 _So, this thing lands, taking up a huge part of the car-park… thankfully it's a quiet morning… and the entire team get out! They pose for photos (_ _here_ _,_ _here_ _,_ _here_ _and_ _here_ _), then head in since apparently their newest member, Songbird, needs some new clothes and stuff._

_Naturally, since I work security, I follow them in and wow, it was odd having a half-dozen capes in full costume just buying things like normal folk, then getting a takeaway before flying off._

_However, I managed to overhear a few things and I checked with them before posting._

_Their newest member is Songbird who apparently Triggered at the same time as the deceased Paige Macabee with a similar powerset. While Canary went public, Pamela Mackenzie (yep, apparently the initials are a source of humor) kept quiet until she was forced out of her home and joined the Shadowed Blades. Unlike Canary, however, Songbird has total control over her power, meaning she rates Master 5 at worst._

_So, I've already PM'd_ _CapeCompendium_ _about updating the_ _Shadowed Blades Thread_ _and thought I'd make a thread of my own to discuss the dark-haired addition to our favourite Rogue team._

_Thoughts?_

_._

_(Viewing page 5 of 27)_

_._

► _**WatchesTheSunrise**_

_KipsInTheSun has a point. Songbird does look quite a bit like Canary, perhaps they're cousins?_

_._

► _**KnowsTehHiddenTruths**_

 _Songbird_ is _Canary! They faked her death and re-branded her! Eidolon teleported her out of the transport and dropped the chair into the lake!_

_._

► _**WatchesTheSunrise**_

_Yeah, suuuuuure. Just like the Case 53's are actually the end results of a government conspiracy to turn us all into Capes. Or that the Endbringers are projections by a mysterious villain._

_Get real, Knows. Ever since VoidCowboy started his therapy, you've been vying for the position of Internet Loonie._

_._

► _**XxVoidCowboyxX**_

_Knows, that's crazy talk._

_[edit – deleted paragraph. Sorry, my girlfriend pointed out that I was backsliding again.]_

_._

► _**StrongGood**_ _(Unverified Cape)_

_I see that Void's apparent trip into the forays of sanity has been reversed. Welcome back. I missed laughing at you._

_._

► _**PriceOfBeans**_

_It's possible that they're related, Paige had an uncle on her mother's side who seems to have dropped off the grid several decades ago, so…_

_._

► _**DecaffinatedChicken**_

 _HOLY SHIT!_ _PANIC STATIONS! END OF WORLD ALERT!_

_._

► _**StrongGood**_ _(Unverified Cape)_

_What? What happened?_

_._

► _**DecaffinatedChicken**_

_VOID HAS A GIRLFRIEND! A REAL ONE! HE WASN'T BOASTING WHEN HE MENTIONED HER!_

_._

► _**TheArcheryDude**_

_Holy fudge! How the hell did that happen?_


	19. Powers For Fun And Profit - Worm

"Let me out!"

The mocking laughter faded as the trio walked away and I tried to push against the door to the stinking locker that she had been trapped in. The sensation of being trapped rose and combined with the stench, I felt myself falling in a direction that didn't exist…

"… _my gawd! What was she doing in…"_

"… _the hell happened to her! What is that stuff on…"_

"… _call the paramedics! Whatever this stuff is, there's no way it's sanitary! If it gets…"_

"… _aside, everyone! Stop gawking and get moving, don't you have classes to…"_

.

"Aaaah!"

I awoke with a yell, jolting into a seated position as the sheet that had been covering me slipped down. Panting, I tried looking round, but without my glasses, everything was blurry and…

"Ah, you've woken up."

A blurry shape held something out and I accepted it, finding that it was my glasses. Putting them on, the pale blur resolved into a nurse who was smiling at me reassuringly.

"Where am I?" I asked, looking round. It was obviously a hospital of some sort, but which one?

"You're at Brockton Bay General." The Nurse answered calmly. "I am Nurse Johnson, but you can call me Kate. Who are you?"

"Taylor. Taylor Hebert." I replied almost absently, looking out of the window with a frown. Had that skyscraper always been there? "How long was I out?"

"Two days."

I stiffened. "Oh hell! Dad! I need to cantact dad! Danny Hebert, he's head of hiring at the Docks… what?"

 _Call-me-Kate_ was shaking her head. "No, my brother is. I've never heard of Danny Hebert."

I stared at her in shock.

"…what?"

.

.

I stared at the government official as he sat down and gave me a professional smile, one that gave me no hint at all of what he actually felt about me.

"You have been quite a conundrum, Miss Hebert." He noted as he pulled out a file and opened it. "Is this your father?"

I looked at the photo. Yep, that was Dad, tall, lanky and looking rather worried.

"Where is he?" I asked. "Why isn't he here?"

"He's safe and on Earth Bet."

That one sentence froze me.

"Earth… Bet?"

"This is Earth Aleph, Miss Hebert. When we sent a message through the Portal asking about you, the reaction was… complicated. While Professor Haywire managed to drive a small Portal between our worlds, _you_ are the first confirmed _traveller_."

I felt my breath catch. If he was telling the truth, I was stuck in a different reality to my dad. I'd never be able to do more than send him the occasional, expensive, text message! I'd never see him again! And it was all thanks to those three bitches that I…

"Taylor!"

I looked round in shock at the familiar voice and found my father staring at me.

"Dad?"

"Taylor! You're back!"

I found myself engulfed in his arms and I hugged him back as tightly as I could.

"Miss Hebert." A new voice said and I looked up to see Armsmaster putting down a complex device. "I see that you have learned how to use your power. Welcome back."

…what?

.

"So… you had me meet with Agent whatsisname in a place that matched to… here?" I asked, waving at the large room in which I was sat, complicated equipment festooning the walls. "The room I was in was… smaller."

"Correct." Armsmaster said as he tapped away at a small computer on his bracer. "We were uncertain of the margin of error your powers had. However, I can now say, judging from the two translations noted, that the translation itself is most likely geographically precise. Should you translate between worlds, you will emerge at the same longitude and latitude. I am uncertain as to whether geographical variants will adversely affect your power."

I blinked as I parsed his final sentence. "So… if I use my power in a building here that isn't _there_ …"

"You may experience an unfortunate downwards acceleration due to gravity, followed by a sudden stop." Armsmaster agreed.

I rose from the chair and started pacing around the (temporary) hall, then I paused mid-step.

"What is it?" Armsmaster asked.

"I… I think that _this_ is where the desk was… is…" I moved my hands, trying to get a _feel_ for the not-shape I could sense.

"Fascinating." Armsmaster mused. "May I call in an acquaintance to aid in testing the limitations of your powers?"

"Erm… sure?"

.

.

"Test seventeen." Dragon said, giving me a quick smile before she lowered her faceplate. "All sensors reporting full functionality and we have a link through the Portal. Miss Hebert, you may proceed."

I nodded, then as my dad watched, I reached out and laid my hand on the Container filled with various bits of Tinkertech and other equipment. _Reaching_ out with my power, I could feel the matching pad on Earth Aleph and I _shifted_ , pulling the Container with me.

As before, I caught several other echoes as I _moved_ , but Aleph firmed around me and I looked up to see the Agent (whose name I _still_ didn't know, dammit) make a note on the electronic clipboard he was holding.

"Arrival confirmed." He said, then he looked up. "Sensor readings uploaded and sent. Thank you, Miss Hebert."

I wiped the small trickle of sweat from my brow, then _stepped_ back to Bet and family.

.

"Alright." Dragon said, looking down at the hand-held computer. "Taylor, judging from the readings and extrapolating from them, I would advise moving no more than a dozen Containers a day and taking at least one day off a week. On the other hand, making the translation by yourself and carrying less than your own body-weight seems not to drain you any more than walking a few paces."

I nodded. Moving the Containers had been slightly tiring, but just walking from one Earth to the other with a message disk? No problems at all.

"I think that is all for today." Dragon noted, then she glanced round and moved closer to me. "Taylor, you may be interested to learn that the three who pushed you _into_ that locker have all been arrested and charged. The copies of your journals alone would have proven difficult for them to deny, coupled with their recovered e-mails and text messages? While you might be asked to testify, they're certainly not going to be walking free."

I smirked at the thought of Sophia in jail.

"The government has also contacted me." Dragon continued. "Apparently your power would be perfect for the Witness Protection Program…"

I held up one hand and Dragon stopped, her helmet slightly tilted to show that she was waiting for me to speak.

"Dragon, what do you think the chances of me transferring to Winslow are?"

Dragon's confused silence caused me to start laughing while Dad, who had followed my thoughts, grinned widely.

.

.

 _Of course, life couldn't actually get better._ I growled to myself as I glared at the Agent.

"He's my _father_!" I hissed. "Do you _really_ think I'm just going to stay here and do _nothing_?"

"We have evidence that the _Gesselschaft_ are behind the…"

The Agent's voice vanished as I _translated_ to Aleph. The watchkeeper in the booth looked up from his book as the alert sounded, telling him that I had come across to my _other_ office (or warehouse… or whatever…)

"I need some help." I stated. "The E88 have crossed a line. They've kidnapped my dad."

He was very well informed due to the briefing-upgrade discs I brought across the reality divide daily and he didn't even hesitate before picking up the phone.

.

.

"Goddammit!" Kaiser hissed as Hookwolf looked up in confusion, one hand rubbing at the newly-acquired bruise on his head where Kaiser had back-handed him into the wall. "What the _fuck_ did you think you were doing?!"

"Hey, we get Crossover working for us, we can bring across drugs and reinforcements by the truckload and no-one can stop it." Hookwolf grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet, one hand on the wall for support. "You've seen the public releases, right? We grabbed her dad and now if she wants him to live, she does as we say. Simple."

Kaiser stared at his lieutenant, his fists clenched and his armors spikes slowly extending further as he fought to contain his rage.

"You. Fucking. MORON!"

Hookwolf stared at him.

"You… you… goddamit, Hookwolf!" Kaiser _just_ managed to keep from calling him by his real name as the man tied and blindfolded in the corner listened with a slight smirk. "Look, follow my logic. Hebert can cross from Bet to Aleph and back again. Yes?"

Hookwolf nodded slowly.

"Communication is possible _without_ her power due to Haywire's Portal, but _everything_ that goes through is examined on both sides. Right?"

"…uh-huh?"

"So, to all intents and purposes, she has an _entire fucking PLANET_ to hide out in if she wants, a planet where not only can we not get her, we have _no fucking idea_ what she's doing there!"

"..so we get one of our men across first?"

"BOTH FUCKING PLANETS IDOLIZE HER!" Kaiser screamed before he could stop himself. "She's been carrying _container-loads_ of trade-goods between realities! She carried the _fucking President_ across to meet with his Aleph counterpart! She's _the richest fucking cape_ in America right now!"

"…she is? Great, we can get a cash-boost…"

Kaiser's gauntleted palm slammed against his helm as he contemplated his underling's inability to see the bigger picture.

"Goddammit…"

Kaiser's exclamation was cut short when the front of their secondary base (Hookwolf had at least had enough intelligence to not drag Danny Hebert into the Medhall building) suddenly shattered and imploded in a manner he had seen before.

"…Faultline." He shook his head disbelievingly. "She hired Faultline…"

A blur slammed off Hookwolf, embedding him in the wall even before he could deploy his metallic blades and Kaiser half-turned to see Glory Girl and Shielder landing beside Mr Hebert, Shielder's force-fields already forming around them as Glory Girl began freeing Mr Hebert from the chair he was tied to.

"You're on your own." He snapped at the dazed Hookwolf even as his blades sliced through the floor beneath him. "Don't expect a rescue, you moron!"

As he finished his statement, Kaiser let himself fall through the floor, landing on the next floor just in time for a white-clad seven-foot-tall man to deliver a punch that sent him through a wall and spiralling into darkness.

.

.

"Dad!"

"Taylor!"

I heard several people chuckle as I caught Dad in a hug, one that he returned with interest, then a throat cleared and I turned to face the welding-mask-wearing woman.

"The mission is complete?" She half-asked, half-stated and I nodded.

"Yep. Dad's safe and the bastard who took him…"

I paused as another figure appeared.

"Manpower." I said in greeting, then I paused as I took in his grin. "Did something happen?"

"Your information was perfect, Lady Faultline." The publicly-known Hero said with a nod verging on a bow. "Kaiser tried to escape by going down."

"He's done it before. Several times." Faultline replied. "You mean…?"

"I got to punch a Nazi." Manpower confirmed, grinning widely. "Any day you get to punch a Nazi is a good day."

"Any day you get _paid_ is a good day." Faultline countered before turning to look at me again. I nodded and pulled out my (one-of-a-kind, specially-made-by-Dragon) phone.

"Dragon, success." I said, leaning against my Dad. "Send the funds. With a bonus, Dad didn't even get a scratch."

" _I am glad to hear it, Taylor. The funds are being sent now."_

Faultline pulled out her own phone, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Pleasure doing business with you." She said, then she turned and walked off, waving for her crew to stop piling up the knocked-out gangers and follow her. Manpower watched her leave with a wry smile.

"She could be a great hero." He commented. "I'll deal with the police for you."

"Police?" I asked, then I heard the sirens. "Ah, yes. I'll get Dad home."

"Hookwolf kinda demolished it." Dad said and I shook my head.

"Okay, I'll get you to _my_ home-away-from-home in Aleph. Dragon?"

" _I've already contacted a trusted building company."_ Dragon replied since I hadn't deactivated the phone. _"I'll add some extra security as well, if you don't mind."_

"That would be great. Thanks, Theresa." I switched off the phone, then caught Dad's curious look. "What? It's her name."

.

* * *

.

* * *

.

I stepped out of my home and smiled as my limousine pulled up, driven by a very hunky young man.

"Brian." I greeted him as he got out to open the door for me.

"Miss Hebert." He nodded back and I let myself take in the bulge of his biceps as I slid onto the seat. Brian closed the door and slid back into the drivers seat. As he smoothly pulled out, I activated my tablet.

"Dragon." I smiled as the screen lit up.

"Crossover." Dragon nodded back to me, the signal being relayed via the Haywire Portal. "It's a fairly quiet day today, we only have five containers to transfer, three from us and two from your side. However, we have a request from the FBI to transport a family across."

"Another Witness Protection thing?" I asked. "Alright… I assume standard protocols are in effect?"

Dragon nodded again. The standard protocol was for them to arrive in a blacked-out van which would drive into a container that I would then _shift_ across. Once there, the van would drive off with me never seeing anyone involved, meaning that I would have no clue as to who I had helped (or how many of them there were). The process was publicly known, meaning that everyone knew that it was pointless trying to press me for details.

"Anything else?"

"Nothing important." Dragon shook her head.

"Then I'll let you get back to whatever needs doing." I smiled. "Good luck."

"Same to you." Dragon replied before disconnecting. Leaning back, I glanced out at the moving backdrop of Brockton Bay Aleph, then turned my attention to Brian and his amazingly broad shoulders.

Damn, he was hunky.

.

.

Earth Aleph formed around me and I stepped away from the container to allow the workers access.

"Third transfer confirmed." A voice noted and I turned to see my Aleph-aide Lisa writing something on her clipboard. "Your coffee and a pastry is waiting."

"You know me too well." I laughed as I followed her to the office set just off the transfer pad.

"But brooooo…." A familiar voice whinged from ahead of us.

"This belongs to Taylor." Brian rumbled back. "You know? The one who helped me get us a better life here?"

I chuckled as Lisa sighed. "I see Aisha's here again."

Lisa nodded. "I asked Brian to protect your snack."

"I hope he's up to the task." I laughed as Lisa opened the door for me to enter. Stepping through, I paused at the sight of Aisha dangling sulkily from her brother's outstretched hand.

"Taylor!" Aisha chirped, tearing her eyes away from the pecan plait waiting for me. "Brian's being mean!"

"Let me have my snack first, then we can talk." I smirked and Aisha pouted. "Also, shouldn't you be at school?"

Aisha's eyes widened. "Erm… day off?"

"Aisha…" Brian growled.

.

.

"Last one." Lisa nodded as I placed my hand on the container.

"Send the signal."

"Signal sent and received."

I nodded and _reached_ out…

"Aisha! Get back here!"

Just as I started to _transition_ , Aisha crashed into me, knocking me off-balance. Frantically grabbing her so that she wouldn't vanish between realities, I managed to _pull_ us to Earth Bet, landing roughly on the pad.

"Whoah, trippy…" Aisha sounded somewhat disoriented.

"What the…?"

I blinked, then turned to look at the container that I had managed to bring with me despite Aisha's interference…

…what?

.

.

The last box was removed from the container, revealing that the door at the other end was open, a view of Earth Aleph visible through it. Looking round, I could see the container somehow _twisting_ into nonexistence on the outside, but the inside was perfectly normal, save that the other end was in a different reality.

"…I have no idea how this is possible." Dragon admitted as she finished circling the partial container. "However, this does simplify logistics somewhat… Any chance you can duplicate this?"

"…maybe." I mused, thinking about how the _transition_ had felt different. "I'd need to make a few test runs…"

"AISHA!" Brian stormed out of the container and grabbed his wayward sister. "You are coming home and you! Are! GROUNDED!"

As Brian vanished back through, dragging his protesting sibling behind him, I looked across at Dragon.

"So." I finally managed. "Will you be putting in rails or a conveyor belt?"

"Given the size of the container, a conveyor belt would work best." Dragon tapped the chin of her helmet thoughtfully. "I'll run up a new contract so you get a fee for each transit."

"Thanks." I turned to look at the container again. "Can we do something to hide that… that… it feels like it should be making my eyes itch."

"It is somewhat distracting." Dragon agreed. "I'll have a shell put up around it."

A forklift trundled up, placing an empty container next to the first one. Recognising my cue, I stepped forwards, reaching out to see if I could duplicate the accidental portal.

.

.

"…so I now get also paid for doing _nothing_." I waved my fork in the air to emphasize my point, then reapplied myself to the English-style _fish and chips_ before me.

"Dragon contacted me about it." Dad noted as he squeezed a slice of lemon over his cod. "Now that you've learned how to make those… those…"

"Transfer tunnels." I giggled.

"Transfer tunnels." Dad repeated with a nod. "Dragon contacted me about it, she wants to have you set up similar tunnels at various points around America and apparently both Englands are making noises about buying several tunnels of their own from you."

"I'll be _raking_ in the money." I grinned before popping another fry into my mouth.

"As if you aren't already." Dad shook his head even as he scooped up a forkful of mushy peas.

.

.

"Well, this is… interesting." Director Rebecca Costa-Brown noted as she looked at the wall-sized screen before her and the assembled Directors of the PRT on it. "We now have full access to Aleph and the CUI cannot do anything about it since it has nothing to do with Professor Haywire's technology."

"My sources say that the Yangban are looking to _acquire_ Crossover's services." One of the Directors supplied.

"Faultline's Crew are among several private security organisations who have been hired to oversee security at the Brockton Bay Bet Terminus." Rebecca stated. "Admittedly, with this new manifestation of power, Crossover's value has both decreased and increased enormously."

"She isn't a bottleneck any more." Director Tagg interjected. "Now she's set up those tunnel things, there is less political interest in her, meaning that we might be able to…"

"Wrong." Costa-Brown interrupted him. "There's more interest in her than ever before. _Lots_ more. Before, she was indeed a bottleneck with a well-publicized daily upper limit. This allowed the government to strictly ration access to her and examine everything that went through. Now, though… as the volume of items increases, the amount of effective security will decrease. We may be looking at inter-reality smuggling in the not-to-distant future."

"We should recruit her." Tagg insisted. "Her power was almost useless to us before, but now? We can use it to relocate our bases on Aleph where the villains won't be able to attack, while still allowing us full access here in Bet."

Costa-Brown frowned. "It would be a lot more complicated than that… for a start, I do not think Aleph would appreciate suddenly playing host to large numbers of people with enough power to depopulate cities if not held in check. On the other hand, placing evacuation portals into the various bases might be a good idea… assuming that the relevant treaties can be drawn up."

.

.

Dad watched as a train vanished into the short tunnel, wagon after wagon entering the structure that was far too small to contain it.

"That looks like something from Looney Tunes." He finally managed.

"Dragon pre-fabbed some tunnels large enough for trains to pass through and since there were so many rails here…" I shrugged, looking round at the revitalized Docks that were bustling despite the total lack of shipping.

"It's certainly helped with the local employment." Dad agreed as another train pulled out of a siding and began its journey through the Tunnel even as yet another train emerged from the matching structure a hundred meters away.

I nodded in satisfaction, then paused as a red-headed man walked past, triggering a thought.

"I've been somewhat distracted." I admitted. "What's happened to the Trio? Last I heard, the court cases were still going."

Dad blinked. "I thought you knew?"

"Distracted." I pointed out, waving towards the Tunnels to ensure that my point was made.

"Ah, yes. I suppose becoming the richest Cape in the history of Capedom would have that effect." Dad agreed. "Okay… Emma turned out to be psychologically damaged, apparently she was attacked by ABB members while you were at the summer camp and Sophia somehow saved her, then fed her some crap about predators and prey. She's now in Juvie and getting serious therapy while Alan's been barred from working in law for certain actions he took to shield her… that bastard.  
"The Clements girl is also in Juvie, but she was a hangar-on for most of it. Her family has already moved to the other side of the country and she's been transferred to a facility over there. As for Sophia… there were some NDA's involved, she had a special status, but she's been punished as well. She's never going to be anywhere near Brockton Bay again."

"Good." I gave a firm nod.

"So." Dad started to walk towards his office as I strolled along beside him. "Given how much free time you're now getting, what are your plans?"

"I'm thinking of checking out some of those other _echoes_ I can sense." I admitted. "One or two of them seem to be close enough that I shouldn't have any real trouble reaching them, now I know which _direction_ I should be looking in."

"Go _zornward_ first." A fedora-wearing woman in a smart suit suggested as she walked past us.

"That actually makes sense…"I mused, then I blinked. "Who was that?"

Dad had stopped and was looking round with an expression of confusion. "I have no idea."

"And where did she go?"

"I… have no idea."

"Did she just pull a _me_?"

.

Contessa walked through Cauldron's base, scooping up the envelope that she had placed on a specific table seventeen Steps ago.

"Door to Gimel."

The octagonal distortion opened in front of her and she traversed it without breaking stride. The new Path that Crossover had unwittingly allowed her to run had more than tripled the number of Earths that were expected to survive Zion's eventual rampage.

"What the…?"

"Hello, Mr Barnes." Contessa said with a nod of faked respect. "It is time to repay that favor you owe us for saving your son's life. Please ask him to be at this point tomorrow."

Alan Barnes stared as the woman vanished into another octagonal distortion, then he slowly opened the envelope.

"Hey, dad!"

"Emmet." Alan nodded to his son. "How did your patrol go today?"

"Fairly quiet, we only encountered a couple of attempted muggings. It was almost not worth going out as Goldhawk." The tall red-head replied, his eyebrows creasing into a frown. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"I received a… _request_. You remember the vial that saved you and gave you powers?"

.

.

"You don't have to do this." I halfheartedly protested as Brian loomed beside me, clad in a top-of-the-line DragonTech Bodyguard Suit (with armor paneling guaranteed to resist even armor-piercing bullets). In a touch of what I suspected was whimsy by Dragon, Brian's outfit looked almost like a gangster's suit, even down to the long trench-coat (which hid his armory) and the wide-brimmed hat (the edge of which I wasn't supposed to know could double as a cutting blade when thrown).

"Lisa and Aisha would both kill me if anything happened to you." He rumbled.

"No fair using them against me." I groused as I accepted my own protective jacket.

"Hey, it works." Brian shrugged and I felt myself briefly lost in admiration for his musculature, even when it was obscured by several layers of protective weave. "Ready when you are."

I tapped the edge of my custom visor and a small light activated. "Recording and ready to _transition_."

"Ready to provide cover." Brian matched my professionalism exactly as we had practiced under Dragon's watchful eye.

"Transitioning!"

.

.

"You won't win, Laserqueen!" Goldhawk shouted as he dived out of the way of the condensed beam of light that the villainess had gathered and fired at him.

"We could do with some help!" His second-in–command called into her comm.

"You got it!" A new voice shouted. "Shade her!"

A cloud of blackness engulfed the villainess, cutting her off from the sunlight that powered her abilities and muffling her screams of outrage.

"Hello!" The new voice continued. "I'm Crossover, from Earths Aleph and Bet and this is my assistant, Eclipse. I hate to sound cliche, but… take us to your leader?"

Goldhawk simply stared in shock as the large black man known as Eclipse face-palmed.

"Really?"

"It's a classic!"


	20. Episode 9 Alt Open - Star Wars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written just after Episode 8 was released as an attempt to portray a possible way to redeem the Disney Star Wars trilogy.  
> Seeing Ep 9 and the Sith Dagger convinced me it was a wasted effort...

Kylo Ren fumed as he sat in the command seat of his shuttle. His crew worked with their customary efficiency, but he could sense their normal belief in his abilities had waned.

His never-be-damned-enough uncle had _shattered_ the aura of power and control that Kylo had spent years crafting. Although the elderly Skywalker was undoubtedly deceased due to the strain that using the Force Projection technique imposed on the user, he had done it so masterfully that Kylo had no clue that he had not truly been standing there.

Although the damned Rebellion had been reduced sufficiently that they could flee on but a single ship, the ship in question had been the Millennium Falcon, the vessel that Kylo had grown up on and had searched for after learning that Han had lost it in a game of Sabacc.

"…sir?"

Kylo glared at the co-pilot. "What?!"

"Sir… you need to see this…"

Kylo followed the trembling finger and his eyes widened as he saw the _two_ Mega-class Star Destroyers bracketing the bisected _Supremacy_. Beyond them, visible only due to its running lights and the way it was backdropped by the local moon, was a triangular ship almost as long as the Supremacy had been, but with a keel that stretched far deeper.

"…what is _that_?" Kylo whispered, then the comm-system of the shuttle squealed as it was over-ridden.

" _Upsilon-class shuttle Prime-Two, you are directed to change course to zero, zero eight, elevation zero four two. Use beacon one-six-six-eight-alpha and land in the Eclipse's primary bay. Your escort will be waiting."_

"Do we comply, sir?" The pilot asked and Kylo gave him a look of disbelief.

"Of _course_ we comply!" He snapped. "The First Order strained itself to the limit to build the _Supremacy_ and whoever this is has _two_ of them plus whatever that third one is!

"Understood, sir. Changing course."

Kylo stared at the mysterious vessel as it centered itself in the forward view-screen.

"Eclipse." He whispered the name almost reverently. "Eclipse…"

.

.

"Ten-hut!"

The massed formation of Stormtroopers snapped to attention as Kylo Ren strode down the ramp. Waiting for him was an officer wearing not the uniform of the First Order, but one that looked almost exactly like the uniform of the long-fallen Galactic Empire. The officer saluted him and Kylo responded with a nod of acknowledgement, his eyes taking in the man's rank badge.

"Lord Kylo Ren, welcome aboard the _Eclipse_."

"It is a very impressive ship, captain." Kylo admitted, glancing around the cavernous bay, the roof of which was cluttered with launching racks filled with what appeared to be TIE Defenders and Missile Boats.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn is waiting on the Bridge, sir." The captain turned and Kylo matched his pace. "When Grand Moff Snoke passed away, we knew it was time for the _Ascendant Imperium_ to come and take its rightful place."

"I was under the impression that… did you say _Grand Moff_?" Kylo's ire briefly vanished in the confusion he felt at the Captain's comment. "He always insised on being called _Supreme Leader_."

"He did lead the scouting elements of the _Ascendant Imperium_ as their supreme commander." The Captain allowed as a blue-skinned Lieutenant tapped the control to open the turbolift ahead of them.

"I see you have a multi-species crew." Kylo noted after the doors closed.

"Primarily Humans and Chiss, yes." The captain noted. "Grand Admiral Thrawn is a Chiss and is the one who oversaw the reformation of the Galactic Empire, reforging it into the _Ascendant Imperium_. Even now, task forces are moving to re-integrate the other portions of our forces into a unified whole. Shame about the _Supremacy_ , it will take quite a bit of work to get that Fleet Command Ship back into combat readiness. What happened to cause that?"

"Hyperspace ramming." Kylo growled and the captain shook his head.

"That shouldn't have worked. With the shields up, it would have either deflected the craft onto a random vector or simply destroyed it and even with the shields down, the normal structural bracing and inertial dampeners would have limited the damage, assuming that the vessel doing the ramming didn't simply transition to Hyperspace before the vectors intersected."

"Yet it happened." Kylo pointed out.

"We've already begun downloading the tactical data." The captain shrugged, causing Kylo to once again feel shocked. "We'll figure out just what happened soon enough."

Before Kylo could respond, the doors opened onto a Bridge as large as Snoke's throne room. Standing on a raised platform, surrounded by various holographic screens, stood a dark-haired, blue-skinned man in a white uniform.

"…is that…?"

"Grand Admiral Mith'raw'nuardo of the _Ascendant Imperium_." The captain pronounced the alien's name without a single hint of hesitation. "Many humans have trouble with his name, so you may refer to him as Grand Admiral Thrawn."

"Indeed he may." Thrawn said from ahead of them. "So, Kylo Ren, formerly Ben Solo, nephew of Luke Skywalker who is almost certainly deceased… do you know where he was?"

"I… no." Kylo admitted.

"Shame. Retrieving his body could have proven useful, although we already have several of his clones as part of the Imperial Guard."

Kylo blinked. "Clones? How?"

"Bespin. Skywalker lost his hand there. It was retrieved and preserved. He is not the only Jedi to have been cloned, there are several clones of Ezra Bridger as well."

"I have never heard of him." Kylo admitted.

"He was before your time." Thrawn shrugged, still seeming to pay no attention to them. "He was rescued by two allies of his almost two decades ago, but not before we managed to create a dozen clones from him. I do believe that you were given training by Grand Moff Snoke? I understand that he was especially gifted in the telepathic arts… which may be how he was so easily controlled."

"…controlled?" Kylo felt numb from the repeated shocks. "Controlled by who?"

"Controlled by _me_." A voice said and Thrawn saluted the hologram that had appeared before him.

"Emperor Palpatine. I have already sent an update."

"I have read it, Grand Admiral. You have done an excellent job as always." The young-looking robed man replied with a smirk. "And I see you have a _guest_. One who is of interest to me. Kylo Ren, you will be brought before me to become my newest apprentice, as your grandfather once was. Snoke saw potential in you and though he was merely my unwitting tool until I finally reclaimed a body of flesh rather than circuits and alchemy, his instincts were sound. I should know, it was my former Master who created him with my aid."

Kylo gaped in shock.

"You will make the arrangements?"

"I will, my Emperor." Thrawn replied with a salute and the hologram vanished.

"I will detach the Vengeance-III-class Super-Star Destroyer _Shadowblade_ to bring you to Byss." Thrawn stated, half-turning so that Kylo could actually see the white-clad man's glowing red eyes. "I do trust that you will not attempt anything untoward?"

.

.

The aura of power was almost solid as Kylo entered the giant hall. The structure stretched over a kilometre ahead of him and was nearly half that in width. Swallowing, Kylo stepped onto the moving walkway and began his journey towards the one who had apparently controlled Snoke.

As he was carried through the hall, Kylo looked round at the various craft and objects set on display. One was a large, chrome-covered starship propelled by two engines mounted on wings near the back while facing it was the burnt-out wreckage of what had obviously once been a similar craft.

Past that was a starfighter that made Kylo's breath catch in his throat. A TIE Advancedx1, it still had a damaged solar panel and carbon scoring, indicating that it was indeed the fighter that Vader had flown in the battle which ended with the destruction of the first Death Star.

Other trophies were less obvious, although their value was obvious. An electrum-plated lightsaber embedded in a transparent block, a pair of lightsabers with transparent portions showing the energy-flow chamber inside, an angled display table showing an old rank plaque of yellow and red squares above a patch that looked like a faceted crystal.

One trophy in particular caught Kylo's attention, it was a sleek, brown starship with a piloting bubble at the front, one occupied by a deactivated pilot droid. Set in front of it was another transparent block, this one with a curved lightsaber embedded in it. Having studied his grandfather's career, Kylo recognized it instantly, even though he had never actually seen it before.

The lightsaber of the Sith Blademaster, the Fallen Jedi, Count Dooku.

.

"Welcome, young Ren." The powerful man in the understated command chair smiled down at him. "Did you enjoy my Hall of Memories?"

"I didn't understand the relevance of many of the items, but… it was impressive." Kylo replied as he dropped to one knee, then he glanced at the deactivated droid in an alcove behind the Emperor, a droid that looked like a man in red robes, but with a holographic display instead of a faceplate.

"Ah, you've seen my Sentinel." The Emperor noted. "Formed from technology and Sith Alchemy, they functioned as vessels for my spirit after my unfortunate demise. Using them, I was able to set in motion my plans to let the galaxy fall into chaos and weaken itself ready for my firm hand to take control once more. Plans which have led you here… my new apprentice."

Kylo bowed his head.

"Or should I say… my _potential_ apprentice." The Emperor corrected himself and Kylo heard several sets of feet approach. "My Royal Knights are loyal to me, but they lack a certain _something_. Nevertheless, they are all trained in the Dark Side and simply need someone to lead them in the field. Rise and look upon your new Knights… Kylo, I present to you the Knights of Ren! Clones of Count Dooku, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Galen Marek and Ezra Bridger, these six will serve as your blade and shield as you pursue the last of the Jedi, Rey, and bring her to me."

"Do you wish her alive or dead?" Kylo asked and the Emperor shrugged.

"Either will do, my Apprentice. I leave the choice to you."

"As you command, my Master."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Addendum - The Reference List
> 
> The large, chrome-covered starship – Royal Yacht (Star Wars I)  
> Burnt-out wreckage of what had obviously once been a similar craft. – Royal Yacht (Star Wars II)  
> A TIE Advancedx1 – Vader's TIE Fighter (Star Wars IV, but this was pretty much stated)  
> Electrum-plated lightsaber – Mace Windu (Star Wars I – III)  
> A pair of lightsabers with transparent portions showing the energy-flow chamber inside – Starkiller's Sabers (Game/Force Unleashed II)  
> Rank plaque of yellow and red squares above a patch that looked like a facted crystal – Galen Erso (Star Wars Rogue 1)  
> Sleek, brown starship with a piloting bubble at the front, one occupied by a deactivated pilot droid – Solar Sailer (Star Wars II)


	21. Equalizer - Worm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by the cool gunfight scenes of Equilibrium, an otherwise ho-hum popcorn movie.

Tattletale stared in shock at the scene below.

Lung was embedded deep into a wall, his fingers twitching slightly as he fought to not fall unconscious. The ABB members who had assembled to help him hunt the Undersiders down were panicking as the black-clad figure struck a series of poses in their midst, the small paired handguns firing blasts of energy that sent their targets somersaulting away.

 _-Poses are intentional, placing limbs and body into positions where they will not be hit by return fire-_ Tattletale's power whispered to her as the figure half-spun, arms extending outwards as it fired two shots that sent another two gangers flying in opposite directions. _–Weapons are handguns created by a tinker specializing in inertial control-  
_ _-Tinker is related to parahuman-_

With a roar, Lung recovered enough to pull himself out of the hole, only to be sent flying backwards through it by the last ABB member. The dark-clad figure paused for an instant, then crouched, crossing its arms and firing, just as Oni Lee appeared. The point-blank shot sent the teleporter hurling through the air and Tattletale bit down an incredulous giggle as the parahuman collided with Lung as he re-emerged.

_-Power is similar to precognition. Limited to less than two seconds but allows for almost any attack to be avoided-_

For the second time, Lung erupted out of the hole he had made, only to take a pair of shots to his ankles. The impact flipped him forwards, driving his head into the road and knocking him out.

"Dude's got style." Regent commented.

The sound of a unique motorbike echoed down the street and Grue tapped Tattletale on the shoulder.

"We should go."

"Yes." Tattletale agreed. "We should."

.

Taylor Hebert looked at the moaning bodies around her with a sense of satisfaction. She had gained her powers when Sophia had tried to knife her at home after she had been prevented from pushing her into the locker by her dad's appearance with the lunch she had forgotten that day, an event that had led to Winslow being put under very public scrutiny.

Sophia had stabbed Danny in the spine before attacking Taylor, who had managed to avoid her just long enough for Danny to create the first Impulse Gun and use it, knocking Sophia out and sending her through a window. Even now, he was working on an exoskeleton to allow him to walk once more, but he had created her guns and the kinetic shield that infused her trenchcoat, protecting her from any attack she couldn't avoid using her power.

A growling noise announced Armsmaster's arrival and Taylor sprinted up the nearest wall, mentally thanking her dad for creating her belt-buckle that allowed her to re-orient her personal gravity. Although using it to fly was far too risky, it was perfect for making escapes.

As she flipped over the lip of the building's roof, she mused on what name she should take. Danny had laughed about the rumours of a new Tinker on PHO before asking if the name Rumour would work. Taylor was uncertain about her name. She wanted to calm the city, to restore things to… equilibrium?

_._

* * *

_._

Director Piggot pulled open the desk drawer and picked up the revealed gun with her right hand even as her left hand slapped the button that cut off the sirens in her office and opened the link to the security office.

"What's happening?"

" _We're being attacked!"_ The voice that responded was filled with a curious mixture of disbelief and annoyance. _"Two attackers in a pincer move, but the one who came in the front… she's just_ dancing _through the defences!"_

Piggot blinked, then she typed a quick command into her computer. The screen on the wall flickered into life, then showed the view from several different security cameras.

"…what?"

.

Taylor briefly tucked her left gun under her right arm to fire a shot behind her and the Impulse Blast sent the PRT trooper trying to attack her into the wall, ruptering the tank of the foam sprayer and encasing him in the very containment foam that he had been intending to use against her.

Throwing the gun into the air, she grabbed a Kinetic Disc from her belt and threw it at the door to the stairs, then she caught the gun even as her other blaster sent another trooper somersaulting over the security desk.

Ducking through the doorway, she looked up at the staircase, then tapped her belt buckle to reverse the orientation of her personal gravity. Landing with a perfect half-flip, she started running down the stairs, making her way to the upper floors.

.

"Stand down!" Armsmaster shouted as the power-suited figure used an arm-mounted blaster to take out the last of the retractable defensive turrets. Around the intruder, several piles of foam and a couple of expended munitions showed that the armoured villain obviously had some sort of shielding technology built into his suit.

"You are shielding a criminal." The looming metal man stated. "You will not stop us from bringing her to justice."

Armsmaster frowned, then shook his head. "We are not shielding _any_ criminals. You are mistaken. Now stand down or I shall _take_ you down."

"Wrong. Answer."

.

Dennis stumbled out of his room, pulling on his helmet to find the other Wards already there.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked as Kid Win hunched over the console, fingers almost blurring as he switched between various screens.

"We're being attacked." Gallant replied. "Two hostiles, one on the roof, one in through the front."

Clockblocker blinked. "What? Who the heck would be mad enough to attack us _here_?"

"Shit!" Kid Win's exclamation caused everyone to turn towards him. "That girl's _certainly_ a cape, she's running _down_ the stairs on the way up!"

"What?" Clockblocker managed to catch a glimpse of the screen. "How the hell is she doing _that_?"

"That's fucking _Hebert_!" Shadow Stalker stated in a flat tone. "What is that loser doing here?"

"Taking out the troopers." Kid Win replied, flicking to a view of three troopers in the lobby who were trying to extract themselves from the containment foam they were trapped by.

.

The door was blasted out of its frame by a Kinetic Disk and Taylor vaulted under the lintel, landing smoothly on the ceiling. Even as she landed, her blasters were firing at the foam dispensers and other security devices lining the hallway, reducing them into scrap. By the time that the targeting computers had recalculated for a target that was neither situated on the ground or flying, the last of the security turrets (a directed sonic projector designed to interfere with the target's ability to balance) was exploding as a result of having part of its casing fragmented and sent ricocheting through its control circuitry.

Glancing round, Taylor flicked her belt-buckle to allow her to drop to the ground. With a dark smile, she threw one of the last three Kinetic Discs at the door to the Wards area, stepping aside so that when the door ripped itself out of the mounting frame, hurtling down the corridor and slamming into the door at the far end, sealing it against any attempted reinforcement.

"Sophia!" Taylor shouted. "Come on out or I'm coming in after you!"

"We can't allow you to do that!" A male voice shouted back and Taylor glanced at the watch on her wrist.

"Ten seconds to spare your friends, Sophia! Surrender now."

"Fuck you, Hebert!" Sophia almost screamed.

"Very well." Taylor absently checked the power level of her blasters. "Sophia Hess, I am performing a citizen's arrest on you for two counts of assault with a parahuman power and attempted murder."

"What the hell is she talking about?" Another male voice hissed.

"The fucking bitch is lying!" Sophia protested.

"No… _you_ are." the first male voice stated.

"Fuck you, Gallant!" Sophia shouted. "You sanctimonious bastard, I did what needed to…"

As Sophia ranted, Taylor used the distraction to leap through the door, crossing her arms as she dived through so that she could fire her guns to take out the pair of Wards who were flanking it, waiting to intercept her. Even as the duo were flung towards the walls, she tucked into a roll that let her scythe her heel into the face of the largest Ward, following it up with another blast even as she rolled to her feet and spun to avoid a sharp-tipped bolt fired by her target.

.

.

"This is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to us." Piggot grumbled as she looked around the wrecked Wards area. "It's going to take _years_ to play down the public relations fiasco."

To one side, Aegis (who was the only Ward fully mobile due to his power-assisted healing) looked somewhat irritated by Piggot's declaration and the overweight woman half-turned to look at him.

"I'm not downplaying what happened to you." She stated. "I am fully aware, however, that our intruder took great care to avoid using lethal force. That being the case, we are looking at no more than severe bruising and a couple of cracked bones. Correct?"

"I… yes, ma'am."

Piggot nodded. "Good. Now, what can you tell me about our intruder?"

"Her name is Taylor Hebert, ma'am." Aegis supplied. "Shadow Stalker identified her during the confrontation. She managed to take all of us down within a space of half a minute… if that. When she left, it was with Shadow Stalker unconscious and with some sort of collar around her neck. I… was trying to extract myself."

Piggot looked at the large hole in the wall where Aegis had impacted during the invasion.

"I assume the standard plan of positioning Clockblocker by the door to freeze the intruders as they enter proved… less than useful?"

"She already knew, ma'am. She dived through and fired as she did so. The impact knocked Clockblocker out and Kid Win's armor was knocked off-line as he bounced off the wall."

Piggot nodded as she spotted several pieces of their resident Ward Tinker's armor still lying around the impact crater which almost humorously was a recognizable human silhouette.

"Ma'am… what do you think is going to happen to Shadow Stalker?"

"I don't know, but we'll find her." Piggot frowned. "I will not tolerate losing a Ward, even one as… _problematic_ as her."

"Director!" Renick panted as he stumbled into the room. "Shadow Stalker's family are here, they were told to get to safety as fast as possible! Apparently Shadow Stalker's going to be unmasked at noon!"

"…what?"

.

.

.

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Topic: Shadow Stalker Unmasked!  
In: Boards ► Heroes ► America ► Brockton Bay

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► TheInnocentPedestrian (Original Poster)

It's made the news, people. Anyone and everyone who was watching the live broadcast now knows who Brockton Bay's Dark Avenger is and what she's been doing.

SS (I'm not posting her real name until the mods confirm that she's now officially an Unmasked Cape) was handed over to the police by a man in power armor. SS herself was in her outfit minus mask, but she had a collar of some sort (tinkertech?) to stop her powers from working and a ball gag. The armored man (anyone got a name for him?) also handed over a large folder which he said was a copy of the crimes that SS and her minions had been committing, crimes which had been covered up by the PRT. When challenged, he stated that someone working for the Protectorate had already tried to kill him and his daughter to shut them up.

(Edit 1) – The man in armor is apparently Danny Hebert, formerly of the Dock Workers Union. His daughter is Taylor Hebert. Neither has a Kill Order on them. WTF, Protectorate?

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[1 2 3 … 76]

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► Bagrat (The Guy In The Know)

My sources in the PRT tell me that a few hours ago, the PRT Headquarters was attacked by two Capes, possibly a Tinker and a Mover. The Tinker concentrated on damage and distraction while the Mover got in, took down the Wards and left with Shadow Stalker. No major injuries or fatalities, but this is a massive pie in the face for the PRT and the Protectorate.

.

► TheLoanArranger

WTF? No-one has managed to grab a Ward from a Protectorate building before! Even our resident Rage-Dragon hasn't done anything like this before! Who the hell were those two?

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► ThePaleLord

So, what did Miss Edgy McEdgypants do exactly? She must have done something to cause a pair of capes to risk the Wrath Of The Triumvirate…

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► CrippledByAHero (Unverified Cape) (Banned)

Sophia Hess, along with her minions Emma Barnes and Madison Clements, engaged in a bullying campaign against my daughter which lasted over a year and culminated in them attempting to trap her in a locker with filled with biohazardous waste.  
Every attempt to rectify the situation was blocked by the PRT, who then sent Hess to kill us with the intent of making it look like a burglary gone wrong.  
If not for me and my daughter both triggering when Hess fired a crossbow bolt into my spine, paralyzing me from the waist down, we would both be dead.  
We accept that this post could damage the case against Hess, but since the PRT will close it down anyway, we don't really care. Next time we see her, though, we will do to her as she tried to do to us.  
My thanks to Toybox for making sure this message will stay up for at least a week in exchange for a crate of Kinetic Rifles.

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► TinMother (Moderator)

CrippledByAHero, you have violated the terms and conditions of PHO and as such, you have now been Permabanned. While I cannot (currently) remove your post, it will be deleted.

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► ManOfShadows (Unverified Cape)

I can believe Stalker would do that. I still have the hunting bolt that she tried to kill me with, as well as the scar from where it hit.

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► TinMother (Moderator)

ManOfShadows, please don't make unfounded claims.

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► ManOfShadows (Unverified Cape)

[Picture 1] The bolt that Shadow Stalker tried to kill me with. Note the blood on the tip and first half of the shaft. That blood is mine.

[Picture 2] My scar.

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► DonutMessWithMe (Verified Police Officer)

ManOfShadows, please contact us. We may be able to help you build a case. Bring the bolt with you.

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► Bagrat (The Guy In The Know)

My sources have got back to me with the identities of the Tinker and the Mover. Apparently the Tinker left behind a Crossbow Bolt in an evidence bag, one that has traces of spinal fluid on it as well as blood.

The PRT is going monkey-poo over this. The phrase "Heads will roll" may not be a metaphor at this rate…


	22. Shield Of Valdemar - Superman & Valdemar Series

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A one-shot inspired by the fact that Superman would, from a personality-wise viewpoint, slot in almost seamlessly with the Heralds of Valdemar.

As the ground shook with yet another tremor, Lara Van-El ran through the archway, her newborn son Kal clutched in her arms. Jor-El caught her as she stumbled and together they moved to where the modified pod was resting on the pad.

"We need to do it now, we can't risk waiting!" She said, fighting not to cry. Jor-El nodded as he donned the control-circlet and his mind interfaced briefly with the systems of the pod. On the smooth upper surface, the hull flowed and reconfigured to reveal a fabric-lined receptacle.

"Place him in."

Lara lowered their son into the pod, tears flowing down her cheeks as she released Kal. Jor-El joined her, taking what he knew would be their last look at their son.

"My love…"

Lara nodded as she stepped back, grabbing onto a pillar for support. Jor-El joined her and they embraced as they watched the pod rise from the launch cradle, orienting itself before accelerating away and upwards, shrinking as it accelerated away.

Behind them, unseen, the house began to collapse as a great tremor severed its foundation-pillars. The same tremor sent Lara and Jor-El to their knees, but their gazes never wavered.

"My son, live..."

"Live…" Lara breathed. "Live well, my son. Live well in your new home…"

The pod vanished from sight as the ground opened up, swallowing Jor-El and Lara.

.

The pod accelerated away from Krypton, its speed increasing as it broke free of the atmosphere and raced away from its home planet. Behind it, Krypton seemed to shudder and shake before its surface started to crack and shatter, the molten rock beneath exploding outwards, swallowing up entire cities without trace and causing the continents to sink below the surface.

As the graviton plants which had caused the disaster were engulfed, the micro-discontinuities that transformed the energy of the gravitational potential into usable energy destabilized and inverted, creating brief points of hyper-gravity acting outwards, sending powerful shockwaves through the core of Krypton while hurling megatons of lava through the skys and blasting the atmosphere away into the vacuum of space.

As the pod's FTL drive opened up a warp-vortex, Krypton exploded, sending solid and molten rock outwards. From the core itself, twisted and compressed into normally-unstable elements and molecules by the shockwaves and variable gravetics, never-before-seen glowing rocks emerged and were propelled by the transformation of matter and energy into a localized inverse-gravitational field, hurling them out so fast that they soon overtook the debris that had once been the surface of the planet.

The energy shields of the pod deflected the glowing rocks that would otherwise have destroyed it, but many more passed by and of those, a small but significant percentage were sucked into the vortex that the pod was traversing, destabilizing it. A moment later, the vortex winked out of existence and the only thing left of Krypton was an expanding asteroid field.

.

.

King Kordas Valdemar, formerly a Baron of the Eastern Empire before he had gathered his people to him and fled from the tyrannical monarch he had once followed, looked up to the skies as the Midsummer Day drew to a close, the sun sinking towards the horizon. Beside him, his wife followed suit despite the fact that she was as tired as he was, both of them having spent the whole day praying to every deity that they had heard of and casting invocation spells as they sought help to ensure that the land that they had founded would not fall to corruption and treachery like the land they had left far behind.

As he sun touched the horizon, the grove of trees in front of them suddenly began glowing with a white light that quickly engulfed them. As it faded, Kordas found himself facing three pure white horses, magnificent steeds with blue eyes and silver hooves.

 _:Your plea has been heard, Kordas Valdemar, once of the Eastern Empire:_ A female voice spoke silently into his mind and Kordas stared in shock at the horse in front of him, a horse that was speaking to him. _:We are the answer to your pleas. My name is Ardatha and you are my Chosen.:_

Kordas stared in shock at the equine entity, his Mage-senses telling him that what stood before him was no mortal animal, but a spirit from the Planes of Light that had descended down to Velgarth.

"Mother, Father, what happened?"

"My Liege, are you alright?"

Kordas and his wife turned to see their son and their Chief Herald running across the field towards them, then both men stumbled to a halt as the other two spirit-horses paced forwards to face them.

_:Restil Valdemar, my name is Stelador and you are my Chosen.:_

_:Beltran, I am Kyrith and you are my Chosen.:_

Kordas smiled as his best friend and son both gaped in shock.

"Our prayers have been answered." He stated. "My friend, you have been my Herald for decades and now, all those who are chosen by these Spirits-made-manifest…"

 _:Companions.:_ Ardatha prompted.

"…chosen by the _Companions_ will take the rank of Herald too." Kordas finished with only a slight hesitation. "Today, we… what is _that_?"

The others followed his gaze as a metal _thing_ descended from the darkening skies and landed almost silently in front of them.

 _:I don't know_ what _that is,:_ Ardatha shakily admitted, _:but the Star-Eyed guided it to us.:_

The odd-shaped thing suddenly opened like a storage chest, revealing a sleeping baby inside. Kordas carefully approached, then his hands lit up with a detection spell.

"No magic propelled this thing… the child is… that _can't_ be right!"

"Father?" Restil prompted.

"This child _looks_ human, but magically… I have never seen anything like this before!"

"What shall we do with it?" Herald Beltran asked. "Adoption?"

Kordas closed his eyes, then he shook his head. "No. Ardatha has suggested that we raise him as a Ward of Valdemar at the very least. She says he is different enough that he will never be Chosen, but he will be a bastion of strength for our nation."

"I will take him in." Beltran stated. "My wife and I have never had any children despite all that the Healers could do."

"Very well." Kordas agreed. "Raise him well."

"And the thing he came in?" Restil asked.

"We will store it away until he comes of age." Kordas decided as Beltran reached into the device to lift up his new son. "What will you call him, Beltran?"

" _I know not who you are, but I ask this of you. My name is Jor-El and to you, I leave my son Kal-El. He is the last of our race and so, he brings with him the Legacy of Krypton. As long as he lives, our home will never be truly dead."_

The image of the robed man faded away and Beltran looked at the sleeping boy in his arms.

"His name is Kal."

.

.

* * *

**(The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy)**

.

As he crested the ridge on his horse, Vanyel couldn't help but to rein in Star so that he could stare in shock at the city before him. While the outer portion was recognizable (albeit far larger and more bustling than he had ever seen before) as a normal city, the middle of the city was dominated by a huge crystal building, one that was obviously made of the same mystical substance as the Herald's Waystations, but so large that the entirety of the Ashkevron Manor could have fitted inside five times over with room to spare.

From the hill, Vanyel could see that the Royal Palace was shaped like a giant dome with four wings expanding outwards towards the secondary compass points. A tower rose from the center of the dome, while a pair of towers rose from where each wing met the dome and between the pair of towers closest to him, Vanyel could just make out what looked like a gatehouse that allowed access to the garden that extended from the towers to the end, where another (albeit far wider and shorter) tower rose.

Vanyel knew that two of the Wings were devoted to the Collegia for Bards and Healers, the third was where the Heralds lived while the fourth was for visiting lords and foreign dignitaries.

"Kernos' balls!" One of his guards gasped. "Never seen 'ought like it before!"

"Ye nevva been inside." The other one chuckled harshly. "When I was just startin' out, I visited with Lord Withen afore 'e became Lord. You think _this_ is 'mazing, wait till we get inside.

**.**

Vanyel Ashkevron sat on the bench as the two Armsmen who had escorted him to Haven flanked him, one standing by the side of the bench while the other leaned against the wall. The room had been silent since the page who had led them to the waiting room had vanished and Vanyel sat motionless, then he twitched as the door opened to admit a tall, well-muscled man.

The man had short hair that was a dark as Vanyel's own although his eyes were blue, unlike Vanyel's silver. However, his body was obviously well-toned under the clothes he wore, clothes that were the same cut as a Herald's Whites, but colored the darkest black. Oh his shoulder was a cloth patch in silver that identified him to anyone who was conversant with the Myths and Histories of Valdemar, a diamond with a serpent inside it.

And he was one of the most handsome men that Vanyel had ever laid eyes on.

"So, you would be Vanyel Ashkevron, son of Lord Withen Ashkevron, yes?" Kal asked and Vanyel gave a slight nod.

"Excellent. Your Aunt is currently dealing with a Heral-Mage Trainee, so for now, she has delegated the task of getting you settled in to me." Kal noted. "Now… yes?"

"'Tis 'bout the boy's horse…" The Armsman by the side of the bench offered. "We're to take it back with us."

"And who _owns_ the horse?" Kal prompted, causing both armsmen to glance at Vanyel. "Gentlemen, the boy's horse _stays_."

"It's a valuable animal!" The armsman protested.

"You can try to take it… _if_ you are willing to be punished for theft." Kal countered firmly. "You can leave, gentlemen. Your mission is completed. Don't let me detain you."

Vanyel choked down a laugh as the two Armsmen scurried out of the door, then he found himself as the sole target of those unearthly eyes.

"Let's get you settled in, then we can see about what lessons you need to take." Kal said. "Come on."

Vanyel almost levitated off the bench as he moved to follow Kal.

.

Vanyel lay on his bed, one arm flung over his eyes as he considered what had transpired.

His aunt had been stern, yet somehow supporting as she had introduced him to her students, including one who had made Vanyel feel even giddier than when Kal had entered the room.

The boy in question was called Tylendel and Vanyel couldn't work out what he was feeling about him, or why.

Maybe he'd take Kal up on his offer and try to discuss things.

He still found it hard to believe that Kal was over seven centuries old, though. He looked younger than Withen!

.

"You are curious about the Palace, yes?" Kal asked as he looked up from the desk and the paperwork spread over it. From where he was standing in the doorway to Kal's office, Vanyel nodded.

"Have a seat." Kal waved one hand invitingly and Vanyel made his way to one of the incredibly comfortable chairs facing the desk. Kal waited until he had sat down before speaking.

"It isn't really a secret, but my father was the equivalent of a Mage-Adept. That description isn't accurate, but it will do for now. When he performed the ritual that sent me to Valdemar, he also sent a… magical stone that when placed in the ground, unfolded into a building of crystal.  
"After several decades of studying the… _scrolls_ he sent with me, I learned how to expand the building more and so I reshaped it to form the Royal Palace and its Wall, as well as the pipes that reach out beyond into the city, pipes that carry clean water out and brings the sewage back into a special set of chambers that purifies it into a powder that the farmers can use to help their crops grow."

"Father had a special building constructed for the privies and other waste back at the Manor." Vanyel interrupted before he could stop himself and Kal nodded.

"Yes, as have many other places. As well as this, I learned how to make special stones that could be placed to form the Waystations used by Heralds on patrol."

"I _thought_ that they looked similar!" Vanyel blurted out, then he clapped his hand over his mouth in mortification. Kal simply nodded.

"Well reasoned."

.

.

Vanyel sat by Tylendal's side, the two of them leaning on each other for both physical and mental support, as Lord Leshara was dragged into the courtroom, the chains on his wrists held firmly by Kal as the Shield of Valdemar dragged the treasonous Lord to the stand.

"Wester Leshara." Queen Elspeth stated as the once-proud Lord stared up at her, white-faced. "You hired the Blood-path mage Krebain to assassinate Stavan Frelennye, the twin brother of Herald-Mage Trainee Tylendel Frelennye, as part of your feud against the Frelennye Clan, a feud which you began. For your actions, I hereby strip you of the title of Lord and condemn you to life at hard labor. Your title and lands will be re-assigned to a more deserving individual who will _not_ be blood-related to you. Your family will relocated and renamed, the Leshara will exist no longer as a clan."

"…no! Please!" Lord Wester begged, but Elspeth remained unmoved.

"Because of your actions, Herald-Trainee Tylendel came within a breath of casting a spell that could have killed your family." Elspeth stated. "Your feud drove him to the very edge of madness and the process of stopping him caused Heir Vanyel Ashkevron severe harm through their lifebond. As it is, we are fortunate that both survived and that Trainee Vanyel Ashkevron was Chosen, an action which may have saved his life. Your ill-advised activities caused a great deal of harm and you shall spend the rest of your life atoning for it. Take him away!"

Kal led the broken man out of the courtroom and Elspeth turned to look at Herald-Mage Savil Ashkevron.

"Your Majesty," Savil began, "With your permission, I wish to take Tylendel and Vanyel to allies of mine who will help them to heal. Lancir can take over Mardic and Donny's training, they finally got the hang of linking during… the incident."

"If you believe that the Tayle'dras can help," Elspeth glanced at Vanyel and Tylendel, who were both sagging from exhaustion, "Then you have my approval."

.

.

* * *

**(The Arrows Trilogy)**

.

"Are we going to travel all night?" Talia Sensholding asked the white horse upon whose back she was perched. The stallion shook his head, then suddenly he turned off the road and cantered between the bushes, emerging into a clearing dominated by a building that Talia had often heard described, but had never seen any examples of before.

The building looked like a wide crystal that had been dropped into the ground. The entire structure was of a single piece, seeming to glow in the dusk and two doorways were on the side facing them. From her reading, Talia knew that the narrower door lead into the Herald's portion of the Waystation while the wider doorway was the Companion's Stable.

"Will the Heralds mind if I stay here?" Talia asked as the stallion came to a stop.

"Not one bit." A voice replied, causing the white horse to jolt with surprise and Talia to squeak with shock. A moment later, a figure from legend walked around the building.

"You… you're _Kal_!" Talia gasped as the black-clad man with jewel-blue eyes smiled. "I thought you were a myth!"

"Completely real, I assure you." Kal approached her and held out his hands. "Come on, let's get you off Rolan's back, your legs must be feeling all achy by now."

Talia allowed the man known as the Shield of Valdemar to effortlessly pluck her off the Horse's back and place her on the ground. Her legs protested, but Talia managed to stay on her feet.

"His name really _is_ Rolan?" Talia asked. "I… I thought I'd imagined it."

"His name is Rolan." Kal confirmed. "And may I have the honor of knowing your name?"

"Talia. Talia Sensholding. Are you here to collect… Rolan?"

"No. I'm afraid I have other tasks to attend to, so you'll have to take him to Haven." Kal shook his head, although Talia could see that he was amused. "Don't worry, he knows the way. In the meantime, though. I think it's time you learned just how to use a Waystation. You look rather dusty."

Talia was suddenly aware of her bedraggled state.

"Come on." Kal tapped a panel set just beside the doorframe and the door slid open. "Rolan can keep watch from the stable. I'll show you how to use the stove and shower, then I need to get going."

Rolan gave Kal a long glare, then used his nose to press the panel that opened the stable door.

.

Talia snuggled under the cover of the comfiest bed hat she had ever encountered. Even her father's bed seemed like a slab of granite compared to this one.

Through the open window between the main room and the stable, she could hear Rolan's deep, reassuring breathing as he slept. Kal had departed over a full hour ago and she had used his absence to cook some food and take a warm shower, something that she had never experienced before but had enjoyed greatly.

She still didn't know what would happen at Haven, but Kal had said that she would be met either by him or someone he trusted (and whom she could therefore trust).

Her future looked far brighter than it had been when she was just the youngest daughter who had been about to be sold into marriage.

.

Queen Selaney looked up as Kal stepped into her Solar, a gentle smile on his face.

"Rolan has Chosen." He said and Selaney's heart soared.

"…he has?"

"He has." Kal confirmed. "She seems shy now, but I feel that Talia Sensholding will fill the gap that Talamir left behind. She will make a great Queen's Own Herald."


	23. Walking On The Other Side - Worm

Sophia seemed even more angry than normal when I stepped into the classroom, but she limited herself to a simple glare, knowing what I had set up. I simply gave her a smirk as I made my way to one of the seats against the far wall and pulled out the project I had kept safe in the Greyverse.

Yes, I'm a Cape. I gained my powers when Sophia, Emma and Madison pushed me into my locker (which they'd filled with rotting tampons and other stuff that even now I don't like to consider) and locked me in. When I tried to get out, I Triggered and my powers let me escape.

What are my powers? I can access a greyscale equivalent of reality that I call the Greyverse. So far, I haven't seen anything else in it and while it's a one-to-one match for reality, it has a few… quirks.

The first (and most useful) is that doors in the Greyverse are simply rectangles of smoke, meaning that I can pass through them with ease. Windows are sort of similar in that the bits that can open in reality are smoke too, but the bits you can't open remain solid.

I can also see where people are… or at least, where they are looking. In the Greyverse, any part of it which is under observation is not greyscale, but coloured while in reality, observed areas are noticably brighter. I can step between the Greyverse and reality at whim, so long as the matching part of reality isn't being observed (by anyone but me, that is).

What this means is simple, I can only vanish when no-one can see me.

I guess it's a form of Offscreen Teleportation.

Oddly, things that move can't be seen once I am in the Greyverse and don't affect me. I discovered this when I stopped on a pavement, only for a wave of colour to engulf me as a car pulled into the garage I was standing outside of. It took me a while to realize what had happened but after that? I took to jogging down the roads and watching the waves of colour sweep past (and over) me.

The Greyverse helped me to understand why Emma had turned against me. I went to her house and looked at her old diaries which she keeps on a shelf in her wardrobe. Finding out that she and her father were attacked by the ABB and saved by Shadow Stalker explained quite a bit. The fact that Shadow Stalker was none other than Sophia Hess explained everything else.

The next time that Sophia tried to hurt me, I ran until I was in a corridor where no-one else was, then when Sophia tried to attack me, I told her that I knew who she was and that I'd set up several deadman-style notes to out her if she didn't stop.

Pulling several of her non-regulation crossbow-bolts out of my bag and telling her which of her stashes I'd got them from convinced her that I was serious.

I think she still doesn't realize that Emma records everything in those diaries of hers.

Since that day, Sophia hasn't taken any action against me, but I know that she's planning something.

The question is whether her anger will over-ride her survival instincts.

.

Sophia glared at the bitch who had threatened to out her to the gangs.

She still had no idea of how the lanky whore had stumbled across her true identity, but the threat that she posed had to be honored. The skank had explained that if anything happened to stop her from accessing the Internet for more than two days, it would trigger the time-delayed messages that she had set up and would result in her identity being posted on the Katana and Stormfront forums, websites used by the ABB and E88 respectively.

The fucking beanpole had been quite insistent on making sure that Sophia knew that all it would take would be one more punch or sabotage attempt and she would _accidentally_ leak what she knew.

Including where all of her caches were. The ones she had covertly set up so that she could continue to punish criminals without the PRT's knowledge.

She had checked and found that the caches had all been raided with almost half the bolts that she had carefully stowed away gone. While the money hadn't been touched, the message was clear to her. _I know where you hide your equipment and money_.

Sophia had relocated most of the money to a new cache as quickly as she could, not even telling Emma about it and for now, it was fairly safe, although she was looking for a better place to store it.

The teacher began yammering away about something that Sophia didn't care about, but Sophia didn't bother listening.

She was too busy trying to come up with a plan to stop her rightful prey from being able to expose her. Once that threat was gone, the Hebert bitch would pay for trying to be anything other than the target that she was.

Of course, first she had to find out just how Hebert kept vanishing without a trace. It wasn't like the fucking dyke could be a Cape, no-one that weak could ever survive a Trigger event, after all.

.

.

Since Triggering, I had decided to get myself into shape by running. With the entire city safe for me to run through (thanks to the Greyverse), I took to exploring as I ran. The Asian Quarter had several parks which looked nice and the waves of colour which indicated people were walking through it made it almost hypnotic.

It was during one of those runs that I discovered that I could see Capes while in the Greyverse. On one street, I saw a seated rippling figure go gliding past, the waves of color showing that he was in the back of a car.

Since I was in the Asian Quarter at the time, it was probably Lung.

With that discovery, I paid more attention and quickly confirmed that I could see Sophia too. While Lung's ripples were like flames of red and yellow, Sophia's were shadowy, telling me that it was probably her powers that I could see.

When the Wards attended a public event on the Boardwalk, I attended in the Greyverse and proved to myself that each Parahuman has a different… shadow, for lack of a better description. Touching them tells me who they are. Clockblocker feels like the stillness of ages, Vista is changes of space… it's difficult to describe, but I now _know_ the way each power feels.

Once I had memorized their shadows, I left to head home.

.

Sophia blinked as her senses picked up _something_ that she couldn't identify. A moment later, Vista twitched and glanced round, then beyond her, Clockblocker jerked in surprise, helmet moving from side to side as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

As Gallant looked around in confusion, Sophia frowned. Although she didn't know what was going on, she didn't like it.

Although she didn't think that it was Hebert's fault, the prey had been rather smug. She probably knew something.

Once the mindless posing was over, she'd check out the bitch's house. Perhaps there was a clue there…

.

.

Emily Piggott blinked as she saw the note on her chair. For a long moment, she stared at the piece of folded paper which should not have been there, then she reached across to tap her intercom.

" _Armsmaster."_

"Get up to my office with every scanner you have." Emily commanded, then she hit a second button. "Security, check the tapes of last night and find out just _who_ or _what_ was in my office!"

.

"Well?"

"We have nothing." The security chief admitted. "Nothing shows up on the camera feed and the angle of the cameras was wrong to see where the note came from."

"Not quite correct." Armsmaster corrected, reaching out and tapping on the controls. "Just here, you can see that the shadow the desk casts changes slightly at this point, indicating that something has appeared underneath it. From the graduations of the shadow, I estimate it to be a person crouched underneath your desk, probably a teenager or younger based on the show size. After three seconds, the person vanishes again. I would guess a teleporter, although how they managed to target such a small space without a line of sight to work with is unknown to me."

"A teleporter." Piggott growled. "A teleporter decided to pop up under my desk, left me a note saying that Shadow Stalker has been naughty, has a number of secret caches and is at risk of being outed, then vanished again."

Armsmaster frowned, then his mouth moved as he sub-vocalised. A moment later, the screen changed from a view of Piggot's office at night to a map with a line of dots.

"What am I looking at?"

"The GPS readings from Shadow Stalker's phone." Armsmaster stated as tags started to appear. "Cross-referencing now… Why would Shadow Stalker visit the house of a girl who was hospitalized several months ago?"

"What? Who?"

.

.

On Monday, PHO was buzzing with news that Shadow Stalker had been reassigned and Emma was looking lost as I walked past her on my way to my locker. The locker that Hess had used was open, showing that it was completely empty and waiting for a new owner.

While watching from under the bed as Hess rummaged through my wardrobe and cupboards had been quite nerve-wracking, she hadn't found anything important since I had stored my journals in the Greyverse. She had, however, found the piece of paper showing the login details for what she believed were the loaded guns I had prepared and I had watched her use her shadow form to leave through my window before I retrieved the most recent version of the note I had written in case Hess tried something like this.

It took me a while to reach the docks and sneaking onto one of the boats was tricky. Once it was close enough, I slipped into the Greyverse and swam to the ladder on the leg of the Rig, climbing up it and through the security gates. Walking through the Rig, I made my way to the Director's office, only to find most of it was highlighted, showing that it was under observation. The only grey place was under the desk, so I squirmed into the footwell before returning to reality and putting the note on her chair.

Getting back was almost as tricky, but I managed to set up a distraction to let me sneak onto the PRT's ferry unobserved. Once the ferry docked, I _greyversed_ into the water and dripped my way home to catch a few hours of sleep before I had to prepare for school.

Now, with Emma bereft of her newfound friend, I was able to have a full day at school without being targeted.

Due to my powers, life was getting better.


	24. Guardian Of The Bay - Worm & Karas

I stared down at the scene below me. None of the men (or the few women) could see me at this point, I was less than a ghost to them, but I could hear them very well.

As could the girl stood by my side.

She was called Yurine and unlike me, she wasn't human and had never been. The manifestation of Brockton Bay, she was part of a gestalt that was the personification of civilization.

And she had chosen me as her champion.

"He's ordering them to kill children." I noted, leaning forwards and placing the tip of my katana's sheath on the parapet to help stabilize me.

" _He is."_ Yurine replied, one hand adjusting the painted goggles on her forehead before continuing to brush back the long, white flowing hair which always moved in the wind, even when the air was still. _"Your training has advanced enough should you wish to intervene…"_

I frowned in thought, considering what she had and hadn't said, then I nodded as I came to a decision.

"At the very least, it will help me learn just how far I have to go."

" _Very well."_ Yurine stepped back and I held out my sheathed katana, holding it horizontal just below the tachi. A moment passed, then I felt the energy begin to form around me as Yurine's chant began.

" _One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… and this is ten. Sway to the left. Sway to the right. Sway… KARAS!"_

.

"Now, move…" Lung paused in the middle of his command and looked round.

"…sir?"

"Someone's… chanting…"

The assembled grunts looked at each other in confusion, then the highest-ranking minion spoke again.

"I hear nothing, sir."

Lung looked round, then suddenly he looked up as an armoured figure appeared in a flash of light, leaping off the rooftop to land in a classic three-point pose in the rapidly-clearing space before him.

"Shoot him!"

For a couple of seconds, no-one moved, then the figure rose to its feet, its samurai-like armour somehow glinting black as its glowing eyes fixed on Lung. As if it was a signal, Lung's followers pulled out a variety of handguns and the street seemed to explode with gunfire.

.

Time slowed for me even as the first bullet emerged from its barrel and I unsheathed my blade, using the move to slice the bullet in two even as I clipped the sheath to my belt, allowing me to use both hands to control my weapon. Even though my vision was limited in my armor, I was still _aware_ of everything around me and I spun, moving my blade through a weaving arc which sliced apart another six bullets while placing me in a position to cut through one of the guns being used against me.

.

The stuttering of gunfire started and stopped in less time than it took Lung to blink twice, being replaced with cries of shock and fear. Although not a single one of his followers seemed to have been injured, their guns had been bisected and fragments of their bullets littered the ground. Before him, the blurred figure suddenly snapped back into focus, unmarred and unmarked, but holding a blade which seemed somehow _wrong_ to Lung's eyes.

"…you are not a Tinker." Lung realized. "A Mover… and a powerful one. Who are you?"

The figure stood motionless and Lung felt his anger rise.

"Tell me your name! Now!"

The armoured figure tilted its head slightly and Lung felt his scales erupt through his skin.

"Then DIE!"

.

As Lung charged towards me, I re-balanced my power. While speed had been the required tactic for dealing with the rapidly-departing foot-soldiers, Lung was strong enough that I would have been unable to do more than cover him with scratches. As such, I modified my power-set to gain strength and durability at the expense of being only three or four times as fast as a normal human.

Lung seemed almost to float towards me, scales rippling into existence as he swung a powerful punch towards me and I waited until he had committed, then I moved.

.

"Holy fuck!"

Tattletale's exclamation was almost drowned out by the roar of pain from below and her eyes widened in shock as Lung's arm, no longer attached to the rest of him, spun into the air. The armored figure who had delivered the strike spun away from the raging crime-lord, dropping into a two-handed stance with the blade held vertically.

_Damage is regenerating.  
_ _Lung is surprised by the damage, but believes that he can still win.  
_ _Lung's adversary is ^! ~#*£;!_

"Tattletale?" Tattletale felt Grue's strong hands pick her up from the flat roof that they were watching the fight from. "What happened?"

"I… I don't know…" Tattletale winced as her skull throbbed. "That swordsman… I tried to use my power and…"

"He just took Lung's right leg off at the knee!" Regent gasped in amazement. "What a slash!"

The large dogs behind them suddenly looked round and Tattletale winced.

"Armsmaster's on his way… routine patrol, but… we need to go."

Grue hoisted her onto the back of one of the dogs, scrambling up behind her. "Bitch? Home."

Tattletale held on as tightly as she could given her headache as the dogs started loping away from the sounds of combat.

.

* * *

.

Piggot looked up from the report and gave Armsmaster a nod of approval.

"The most dangerous individual in Brockton Bay, now in our cells. Well done."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Piggot frowned as she took in Armsmaster's expression. Although triumph was present, there was also something else…

"I note that you encountered someone in power armor. Another Tinker?"

"No ma'am. A projection."

Piggot blinked. "What?"

"A projection, ma'am. May I explain?"

Piggot leaned back in her seat. "Go ahead?"

"Dragon, are you online?"

The screen on the wall lit up with the face of the world's most famous Tinker. "I am and I've done more research."

"Then please take over."

Dragon nodded, then her face vanished, being replaced with a picture of the armored figure who had weakened Lung enough to allow Armsmaster to apply the custom anesthetic. The image shrank and another image joined it, this one of the armored figure saluting Armsmaster, then the second image began to move, the figure seeming to fade away even as the armor shattered around it.

"By analyzing the imagery, I was able to reconstruct the facial features of the individual using it." Dragon stated as more pictures appeared, one of a teenage girl staring blankly out of the screen, a second of the same girl in a hospital bed. "Her name is Taylor Hebert… and she is currently in long-term care in the Brockton Bay General Hospital Coma Ward after being extracted from a locker filled with biological waste."

Piggot flinched. "Christ. That's a Trigger Event if there ever was one. Who put her in there?"

"The investigation was closed… by order of the PRT." Dragon supplied and Piggot froze.

"…what."

"I tracked the order back to the originator." Armsmaster growled. "Agent Simmons is currently under arrest and is being _interviewed_ by Internal Affairs, but… Shadow Stalker is also currently under close observation and once I have gathered enough information, I intend to place her under arrest as well."

"You think _Shadow Stalker_ was responsible?" Piggot asked in disbelief.

"We do." Dragon replied. "I have found multiple instances of her committing less than legal activities which were promptly covered up by Agent Simmons."

"Christ." Piggot repeated.

"Miss Militia is currently on her way to contact Miss Hebert's father, Danny Hebert, to see if he can shed any light on the events leading up to the Locker Incident." Armsmaster added. "As Shadow Stalker is still under probation, all I need is your permission to access her e-mail accounts…"

"Permission given." Piggot growled. "In fact, permission is given for checking _everything_ you don't actually need a court order for."

"Thank you, ma'am."

.

* * *

.

I sat on a telephone line, looking out over Brockton Bay.

"Peaceful night."I noted.

" _For now."_ Yurine agreed from where she was stood on top of the telephone pole. _"With the Dragon chained, however, we can expect the vermin to play."_

"The Empire." I agreed with a sigh. "With Lung no longer able to counter them, then they'll be ready to move in. They are going to be the next big problem."

A loud roar echoed and _something_ reeking of petrol and garbage slammed through the pole that Yurine was standing on, whipping the cable out from underneath me. I managed to turn the unexpected plummet into a controlled landing and as I rolled to my feet, Yurine drifted down to beside me.

"What the hell was _that_?" I gasped.

" _An invisible iron chariot."_

I blinked a few times as I thought about Yurine's reply, then I growled.

"It's one of Squealer's invisible trucks!"

" _It is heading towards the Medhall building."_ Yurine noted.

"It needs to be stopped."

" _It does."_

I nodded, then held up my sword.

" _One… two… three…"_

.

Armsmaster ducked as one of the formerly-parked cars lining the street hurtled through the space that he had just been occupying, hurled into the air by whatever cloaked monstrosity Squealer was driving. Increasing the power to the drive engine integrated into the rear wheel of his custom bike, he closed in on the source of the debris that was being sent flying.

"Armsmaster to Console, I am in hot pursuit of Squealer! Backup would be useful at this time!"

As if in answer to his request, a barrage of energy bullets flashed past him, striking the cloaking shield surrounding the armoured vehicle and causing the metal monstrosity to become visible. A quick glance at the small screen inset into his visor and linked to the hidden camera in the back of his helmet showed that he had been joined by an odd vehicle that, despite having wheels, more resembled the lovechild of a stealth bomber and a race-car via a samurai armory. What seemed to be the drivers cockpit was offset to make room for a lance-like projection that ended in a set of prongs bearing a marked resemblance to a jagged dagger.

The vehicle hugged the ground as it whipped round the corner and then it suddenly blurred past him, the lance showing itself to be a gun as it fired another barrage at the modified truck. Tendrils of energy crawled over the armor plating of Squealer's transport, then the vehicle launched itself into the air, transforming into a familiar suit of armor in a flash of light and attaching itself by the simple expedient of thrusting a katana straight through the rear armor plating.

"…that's new."

As Armsmaster watched, Taylor carved open the rear of the vehicle to reveal several panicking druggies, then she swung herself inside, her sword flashing as she somehow blocked or deflected the few bullets that had actually come close to hitting her.

"…Armsmaster to Console. Send some units to my position to collect Squealer and some of the Merchants."

" _The monitor shows you are still moving. Have you disabled the vehicle?"_

A section of side-armor fell away as a sword carved through it, showing that Taylor was making her way to the front.

"No, but it looks like it will be soon."

.

* * *

.

"Mr Hebert?"

Danny Hebert looked up to see an overweight, unhealthy-looking woman at the door to his office.

"Director Piggot?"

"You know me. Good, this saves time. The PRT wishes to make amends for failing to catch one of the Wards before she… caused your daughter's condition. Know that the Ward in question is now in juvenile detention and is being charged with attempted murder. While she won't be going into the Birdcage, I am doing my best to ensure that she won't be free for at least two decades."

Danny blinked.

"In addition, I would like to ask you to let us provide medical care for your daughter. We have evidence that she may have Triggered with a strong Master power. A projection of your daughter has been instrumental in capturing not only Lung, but also the Merchant Capes Skidmark and Squealer."

"Wait… what?" Danny shook his head. "Are you saying that… that Taylor is _a cape_?"

"One we wish to keep very safe." Piggot confirmed. "We do not know the range of her projection, but it is several dozen kilometers at the very least. However, her real body is very vulnerable. All it would take is one criminal with a gun…"

Danny paled and Piggot felt a mixture of shame and triumph inside her. She hated doing things like that, but the power Taylor Hebert had demonstrated was too great to let her simply run around without control… or at least direction.

.

"What the hell?"

I stared through the window of the hospital at the empty room where my body should have been resting. "Yurine ! What the hell happened to my body?"

Yurine stepped out of the shadows and frowned, then she pulled her goggles down over her eyes. Although I still could not _see_ it, I could _feel_ the intensity of her communion with the aggregate subconscious of Brockton Bay, the sensation of something far beyond anything that I could comprehend, something that transcended mere mortality in ways that no words could describe.

" _I have found you."_ Yurine breathed. _"Your body is elsewhere… surrounded by those who have shards of power…"_

"Empire or PRT?" I asked, recognizing meaning of the description she had given. Yurine pulled up her goggles and looked at me.

" _One of those there is clad in steel. A Shaper examines you even now…"_

My blood would have run cold had I still had it. "Kaiser and Orthala, it has to be. I need to get there _now_!"

" _Very well."_ Yurine agreed, then she wrapped her arms around my waist and we fell into the shadows of the Bay.

.

"She's healthy." Panacea stated as she lifted her hand away from the girl on the high-tech bed.

"Can you confirm that she is a Cape?" Piggot pressed and Panacea shook her head.

"She's… _something_. Her Gamma and Corona Pollentias are… active, but _very_ different from any other Cape I've ever checked." Panacea admitted. "It's hard to describe, bit part of the Pollentias are… they're _there_ but at the same time, they're _not_. I've never seen anything like it before. It's like looking at one of those flat pictures that when you unfocus, are something else and three-dimensional, but at the same time, it… can you hear someone counting? Sounds like a young girl?"

Piggot frowned. "I hear nothing."

"Sway to the left?" Panacea looked round for the source of the voice. "What is…"

" _KARAS!"_

Piggot jumped as the word sounded, then an armored figure appeared as if it had stepped through a wall that wasn't there. Letting out a scream of shock, Panacea tried to jump away from the looming figure, only to trip on the hem of her robes and fall. Before she hit the ground, the new arrival had moved faster than Piggot could track and caught the falling healer.

"…Taylor Hebert?"

The armored figure looked up, its eyeslits glowing with an odd, bluish-gold light, then it nodded even as it set the shocked Panacea back onto her feet.

"Miss Hebert, we need to talk. However, that can wait until your father gets here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who missed the Karas miniseries, a Karas is a person chosen by the spirit of a city to act as its protector in both the physical and spiritual planes, although usually more often the latter than the former. Empowered by the city (in the form of a young girl answering to the name Yurine who is also implied to be a hive-gestalt entity across the entire planet), the Karas manifests as a suit of articulated armor with glowing eyes. They also have the ability to transform into a vehicle form or a fighter-jet-like form, gaining the ability to fire energy blasts in both forms, although maintaining those forms can be tiring.
> 
> In all forms, the Karas boasts enhanced strength and the ability to modify time in relation to themselves, granting them enhanced speed to the point that they can literally move faster than a bullet. Only high level demons or a corrupted Karas are a threat to a fully realized Karas in combat. However, a Karas can only manifest when their true body is in a coma, meaning that if their identities are discovered, they are incredibly vulnerable.


	25. Darkchill - Brightburn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short concept/character study based on the film Brightburn and set afterwards.  
> Sadly, my knowledge of the Brightburn setting is not enough to allow me to make a full story.

_We all knew about Damon. The first of the Uberthreats. The fastest, strongest, most violent. We knew about him and several of the others._

_They were too strong for us. They did as they wanted. Destroyed whatever they wished. Killed whoever they decided to kill. Our best weapons were useless against them._

_We needed a miracle._

_And as it turned out, we got one._

_Codename Destroyer was Humanity’s answer to Damon and his ilk. Arriving on Earth at the same time as Damon, Destroyer was adopted by a Psychologist, one who quickly realized that his adopted child had… potential issues._

_Rather than rely on_ the power of love _or anything like that, he taught his son how to think logically. To take the big picture into account. How civilization produces luxuries and if one attacks the country one lives in, the luxuries are soon gone._

_How to trade protection for those luxuries._

_The lessons took and Destroyer deployed six months into Damon’s rampage._

_I was assigned to the base where Destroyer lived. Every luxury he wanted was provided. The best entertainment systems, the most comfortable chairs, intellectuals to converse with, even companionship._

_At first, I wondered what made him so special, so deserving of it, but then I got my answer on the day that he returned from a mission._

.

The wet _thud_ of the corpse landing on the ground seemed to echo across the suddenly-silent base and Destroyer, his body armor cracked and scorched, landed next to the body he had dropped.

“Destroyer.” The Brigadier in charge of the base gave the teenager a respectful nod. “I see that you succeeded.”

“Stupid bastard had no idea how to fight.” Destroyer sneered, poking the corpse with one foot. “Idiot relied on his powers too much. Once I got in close enough, taking him down was easy.”

Brigadier Samson motioned for a stretcher team to remove the body.

“As soon as I saw your beacon start to return, I ordered a feast to be prepared for you.”

Destroyer nodded, ignoring the four men wrestling the monstrous body onto the stretcher. “I think I’ll have a wash first. This outfit’s almost a write-off.”

“The researchers are working on stronger plating for the next iteration of your outfit.” Samson turned to walk beside Destroyer. “How did the vambrace-blade work out?”

Destroyer held up his right arm and clenched his fist, causing a jagged piece of metal to spring out of the fingerless-gauntlet he was wearing. “It got caught between his ribs.”

“I’ll tell the designers to include an emergency detachment button on the next version.”

Destroyer gave a dark chuckle. “It certainly made him squeal…”

The conversation was cut off by the closing door and the watchers turned their attention to the proof of Destroyer’s physical abilities.

“And the scientists get another to dissect.” One of the troopers noted.

.

_Before deployment, Destroyer was trained in close-quarters combat and the use of distance weapons such as the custom anti-tank rifle created specifically for him. New methods of fighting were created for him to aid in overpowering his targets as fast (and ruthlessly) as possible. Multiple gyms were built for him, tested by him and rebuilt, each iteration containing stronger equipment and closer to actually giving him a chance to build more muscle._

_His first field deployment was almost anti-climactic, the fight lasting under a minute without him taking a single strike. As the one who had been throwing cars at civilians died, Destroyer’s place as a national hero was secured. Even when the truth about the Deal came out, people still celebrated whenever he won another fight._

_And there were many fights._

_Most of the Uberthreats were nowhere near his level. Very few of them were even half as strong as Damon was and with the support he was given, Destroyer was stronger than he by far._

_It was not long before Damon learned about Destroyer, already being touted as the strongest being on the planet, and took offense at the implied downgrading of his powers._

_So naturally, the idiot decided to attack._

_It was a moment that would never be forgotten._

.

The alarms sounded as Brigadier Samson ran into the War Room, but as fast as he had been, someone else had been even faster.

“Confirmed Uberthreat coming in from south-south-west, coming in low.”

Samson looked at the map-table with the flashing red icon moving towards the center and a blue icon arcing round to hit it from behind. Markings around the icons showed their speed and height above ground with the hostile icon almost at ground level.

“Do we have visual?”

“Already re-tasking a Predator, sir.” One of the techs noted. “Visual coming up… now!”

“We need a better angle for identification.” The Intelligence lieutenant noted.

“Impact!”

Moving so fast that on the screen he had been a blur, Destroyer slammed into the hostile flier, driving him straight into the ground. A massive cloud of dust briefly covered the pair, then Destroyer spun out of the cloud, coming to a stop in mid-air. Several seconds later, a second figure rose up, this one horrifyingly familiar despite the dirt it was shaking off.

“We have confirmation… it’s _Damon_ …”

On the screen, Damon was shouting something, only for Destroyer to take advantage of his distraction. The thrown pellet hit Damon in the face and released the cloud of gas. As Damon reeled, his mouth working as he tried not to puke from the smell of the fumes, Destroyer swooped down and grabbed Damon’s feet, spinning round to slam the smaller teen into the ground.

The War Room erupted in cheers and whistles as Damon was slammed into the ground again and again, Destroyer aiming for hard boulders and solid trees in order to maximize the damage being dealt. After almost a minute of being used as an impromptu landscaping instrument, Damon managed to get free and tried to flee.

“Get him!” A tech shouted and Samson only just managed to prevent himself from vocally agreeing.

While Damon had a head start in escaping, it did not do him any good. Destroyer had trained hard to improve his prowess and he was on Damon’s back in seconds, one hand snaking round Damon’s neck while the other started jackhammering against his skull. Damon tried to strike back, but the helmet that Destroyer wore protected his face from Damon's frantic attacks, attacks which soon weakened before Destroyer jolted in effort.

“…he did it…”

The voice would not have been audible had the entire War Room not gone silent at the sight before them. It was a moment that they would remember for the rest of their lives, the moment when the first and most famous of the Uberthreats died, his neck broken and his corpse dangling like a limp rag in the grip of the one who had defeated him.

“HE DID IT!”

The room erupted with cheers and screams of joy.

.

 _As it turned out, Destroyer was the first, but he was not the only one. Other countries had their own versions of him. Some of them had been raised from infancy to be patriotic, like the Immortal Perfect Warrior of China while others were simply bribed into defending against Uberthreats, usually with harems of so-called_ volunteers _. Emergency Government programs were put into place by many nations to try and convince others with the potential to become Uberthreats that life would be better for them on the side of civilization._

_Those efforts usually failed. Sometimes quite spectacularly._

_The most well-known end-result of those badly-planned and executed attempts is the Perfect Immortal Emperor, but there were many more._

_Naturally, alternate means of dealing with them were eventually created._

.

“What is it this time?” Destroyer asked as he strode into the Briefing Hall. Throwing himself into the custom-made chair, he accepted the drink offered to him and took a long sip before giving Samson a _look_.

“A new weapon for you.” Samson made a motion and Destroyer rose to his feet as the large rifle was uncovered. “The techs managed to make a breakthrough in understanding the tech that brought the Uberthreats here and you are looking at the first result. This is the Prototype Directed Energy Projection Unit, Combat Version, customised specifically for you.”

“You’re giving me a… a _blaster rifle_?” Destroyer grinned, his eyes almost sparkling with the thought of the damage he could deliver with the five-foot-long instrument of doom on the table in front of him.

“Its capacitors can store enough power for a half-dozen shots at maximum power, each shot packing enough force to shred a tank or severely injure a Damon-level enemy. Normal combat power, enough to take down any normal person, gives you several thousand shots.”

Destroyer picked up the rifle, examining it closely. “Three barrels?”

“The smallest barrel is for normal bullets, the magazine is that box there. Five-hundred rounds. The other barrel is the grenade launcher with selectable grenades, twelve in the rotary magazines. Launching is via grav-pulse, so the range can be adjusted on the fly. The system synchronizes with your heads-up display.”

Completely disregarding the weight, Destroyer lifted the rifle into firing position and peered through the sighting ring.

“Care to test it on the firing range?”

“Hell, yeah!”

.

_The Uberthreats were responsible for the massive change in human society. Their complete disdain for things like empathy and mercy combined with their enjoyment of attacking anyone who showed any sign of weakness led to society itself becoming more militaristic in order to survive. Every nation that survived did so by means of either recruiting Uberthreats to their own side, massive research into weapons in order to take down the attackers or a combination of both. Lesser countries that did not pursue said actions or did so in ways that were self-defeating soon collapsed, their surviving population fleeing or being enslaved by the Uberthreats._

_Of course, there were some nations which actually prospered. Japan managed to turn its Uberthreats into Idols, given lives of luxury that made the Deal look like a pity-payout and trained in teamwork to take down any threat. The one attempt by the Immortal Emperor to deploy his own Uberthreat assets against Japan was taken down so hard that footage still pops up under headings such as_ Underthreat _or_ TPK _._

_Eventually, things stabilized and started to recover. More potential-Uberthreats were recruited as Assets, using the experience we had accumulated with Destroyer and when one went rogue, Destroyer was only too happy to demonstrate that experience trumps viciousness, an example that was captured on film and shown to the other Assets as a warning. Eventually, things were stable enough that we were able to start looking beyond our borders once more._

_And acting against the threats we could see…_

_._

-Extracts from the personal journal of Leftenant Franklin.


End file.
